Cricket Etcetera

India vs England Live Streaming

2011-02-26T13:32:00.003+05:30

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: India vs England Live Streaming

Match Date: Sunday, 27 February 2011
Group: B
Live Streaming: Watch the Live Telecast of the match on Star Cricket from 9:00 am GMT. Check in about an hour earlier to catch the pre-match World Cup Preview Show. (With Siddhu around, it is generally a colourful, interesting scene there!)
Also for Live Cricket Streaming: India vs England Live Streaming

The mayhem that just happened outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore which is playing host to this match shows how big a game this is. Fans are restlessly anticipating for a good match - and this one features India. Doesn't get bigger than this, does it?

The format of this World Cup is such that there are too many mismatches in the first round. How excited can one get about an India vs Netherlands or a England vs Ireland match? No wonder then that the few matches which involve two full members of the ICC are drawing all the eyeballs and streaming attention.

While the World Cup keeps producing an upset now and then, but yet, the quality of the cricket definitely suffers when there is one of the minnows playing. Can't blame them. All that I think is that this is not the CWC is not the right platform for them to show their wares. The earlier formula where the winner of the ICC Associate Trophy used to get to play was the right one.

Coming back to the India - England game tomorrow. As Andrew Strauss has said yesterday, "the pressure is going to be on India." Tens of thousands of supporters in the ground and the expectations of millions more outside really weighs on the shoulders of Sachin Tendulkar and the the other members of the other team.

The one mitigating factor would be that it is not really a do-or-die match. However, both teams would be keen to win the match as they would want to finish on top of the group and ideally meet New Zealand in the quarter-final.

So don't miss the live streaming of the India vs England World Cup Group B match tomorrow. Tune into Star Cricket at 9:00 am GMT.

World Cup 2011: England vs Netherlands Live Streaming

2011-02-22T13:13:00.003+05:30

In an hour from now, the 2nd Group B match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 is all set to begin. It is going to be an all Europe affair as England will take on Netherlands. The live telecast of the match can be seen on Star Cricket. Start time is 2:30 pm Indian Standard Time. You may click here for further information on live streaming of the England Netherlands Match.

England have put up a good show in the warm-up matches leading to this Group Match winning both their fixtures. They especially impressed in their win over Pakistan, who are being seen as a dangerous team and the dark horse for winning the World Cup.

The England team would ideally want to win the toss and bat first today. This would allow their batsmen the right kind of match practise as it is likely that Netherlands may get skittled out quickly were they to bat first. That would leave the English batsmen with not much time on the wickets.

Watch the match live from 2:30 pm to find out how it eventually turns out.

World Cup 2011: India vs Bangladesh Live Streaming

2011-02-19T08:34:00.003+05:30

Streets in Dhaka are abuzz with discussions on the Cricket World Cup 2011 which starts today in the Bangladesh capital. Go to any adda, and the only discussion you will find happening over a hot cuppa tea is that of the India vs Bangladesh match.

Fans here understand that India are a much stronger team, but there is an underlying confidence that they have in their team. Unlike the last time, when the India - Bangladesh match was being seen as a one sided affair (that India lost is a different matter), it is not so the case this time. This one is a much stronger team and with the home advantage, they can only be that much more dangerous.

The match starts in about a few hours from now. You can watch the match live in Bangladesh and India on both Star Cricket and ESPN. In India, Doordarshan will also show the match live. Want to watch the match live streaming? Search on the internet and you will find plenty of websites where you can watch the live cricket action from Dhaka.

Which team are you supporting? We are Indian fans here, but looking forward to some good hitting by Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful. Sounds good? Why don't you share in the discussion?

Live Streaming of India vs New Zealand Warm-up Match

2011-02-16T16:27:00.003+05:30

As I write, India are playing New Zealand in their second and final warm-up match to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. India won the toss and chose to bat first. Star Cricket is telecasting the match live. You can head here for information on the Live Streaming of the India vs New Zealand Warm-up Match.

For a team that chases badly, I don't know if that was the good thing to do. May be it would have been a better idea for Dhoni to test out his batsmen in a chase. That would also have helped him finalize his crucial finishers. At the moment there is a toss up between Raina and Yuvraj for a slot in the team. More importantly, India need to finalize their batting positions.

Coming back to the match today, Tendulkar and Sehwag got our early after getting a start. Tendulkar scored 17 while Sehwag scored 23. Virat Kohli has just got out after steadying the Indian ship. He scored 59.

For New Zealand, Oram took 2 wickets while Southee claimed 1.

The current score is 148/3 off 29.1 overs. So New Zealand would know that India are well on the way to 300. That might be a tad too much for the Kiwis to chase down so they would be best off trying to gain a couple of wickets at this stage and stopping India to something in the range of 250 to 270.

Watch the Live Streaming of the Match via Star Cricket to find out how the rest of the match goes.

Live Streaming of India vs Australia Warm-up Match

2011-02-13T11:08:00.003+05:30

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: Live Streaming of India vs Australia Warm-up Match

In about 3 hours from now, India and Australia will take on the field at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore to start their campaign in the World Cup 2011. Not quite though!!

Today's match is only a warm-up match, and does not amount to much in terms of points or run rate. These warm-up games are only meant to give the participating fourteen teams valuable match practice ahead of the start of the serious group matches.

India have been placed in Group B along with England, South Africa, West Indies, Bangladesh and a a couple of non-test playing countries. Australia are in Group A, where the other teams include Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Canada and the non-test teams.

STAR Cricket and Star Sports will telecast the match live in India. Click here for further information on the Star Cricket Live Streaming of India vs Australia Warm-up Match.

Even though this may only be a warm-up match, you can be pretty well sure that neither India, nor Australia will give each other any free space. Both sides are expected to come hard at each other, and will look to win the contest and gain the mental edge before the World Cup begins.

India are expected to open with Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. Gautam Gambhir will follow at no.3. It will be of interest to see if Suresh Raina makes it to the batting XI today. ( Since it is a warm-up match 14 players are allowed to be a part of the match. However, only 11 batsmen can play and at any point only 11 fielders will be allowed on the field).

On the Australia side, their two main batsmen Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke who have been out of form and runs recently will be keen to get some runs under their belt and regain their lost confidence. Ponting is also coming back after a finger injury so it remains to be seen if he has fully recovered from that.

Another thing is that both teams would want to ensure that no freak injuries take place. Therefore you can expect the fielding to be a bit light, with players not diving around much.

If you would like to share any information on live cricket streaming for other TV channels for this match, please use the comments area below to share your thoughts.

World Cup Cricket 2011 Live Streaming

2011-02-09T14:13:00.003+05:30

ICC World Cup Cricket 2011: Live Streaming

The 10th edition of the ICC World Cups begins in the Indian sub-continent in a little over a week from now. The opening ceremony of the event will be held at the Bangabandhu Stadium in Dhaka.

The Cricket World is one of the world's largest sports spectacles now - with an audience smaller in size compared only to the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. Thus it is not surprising that the 2011 World Cup will be telecast live by several TV Channels in over 150 countries.

In India, you can watch the live streaming of the World Cup on STAR Cricket and Doordarshan. Some matches will be telecast live on ESPN and Star Sports. Click here for all information on the live streaming of the Cricket World Cup.

Star Cricket will also live telecast the two warm-up matches featuring India (India vs Australia on 13th Feb and then the India vs New Zealand game).

In the USA, you can follow the live streaming of the World Cup on Directv. In the UK, Sky Sports will telecast the event live. In Bangladesh, BTV will telecast the event besides STAR Cricket. Other TV Channels which are likely to show the World Cup 2011 live are PTV (Pakistan), Rupavahini (Sri Lanka) and Channel Nine (Australia but unconfirmeed) and Sky (New Zealand).

If you know of any other information on live cricket streaming of the World Cup, you can use the comments area below to share your knowledge with our readers.

India vs New Zealand 1st ODI Live Streaming

2010-11-27T20:17:00.003+05:30

India vs New Zealand, 1st ODI - Watch Live Telecast of the match on Neo Cricket from 0830 hours India Time.

Venue: Nehru Stadium in Guwahati
Match Date: Sunday, 28 November 2010
Live Telecast: On Neo Cricket as well as Doordarshan

The second leg of New Zealand tour of India 2010 commences tomorrow with the first One Day International match at Guwahati. While India ultimately prevailed in the test series by winning the 3rd Test, can they do it again in the ODIs remains to be seen.

Without any doubt, one can say that New Zealand are more likely to be a threat in the limited overs game than they were in Tests. They don't have enough solid batsmen who can occupy the crease and play long innings - the kind of which test cricket demands. However, it was to their credit that they outplayed themselves and managed two draws. In fact, India should consider itself lucky that they did not lose the 1st test of the series itself. Had Harbhajan Singh not scored that century, India were likely to lose the test. How the rest of the series would then have panned out can only be guessed now.

The Kiwis have a good potential XI for the 1st ODI tomorrow. In Tuffey and Miles they have two experienced pacers, and combined that with the experience of Vettori in the spin department, and you have more than a wonderful combination. Can India match up to them? Or can India go one up on the black caps and win the ODI series too.

A lot of these questions will be answered in the first match tomorrow. So don't miss to watch the live streaming of the 1st ODI tomorrow at Guwahati.

Ashes 2010-11 Prevew

2010-11-24T17:17:00.004+05:30

England won the previous Ashes 2-1 in what was a closely fought contest. It was so close that I would even be tempted to say that Australia were actually the more dominant and better side in the last Ashes but were unlucky to finish second best. The English captain Andrew Strauss summed it up beautifully at the end of the historic series when he said this:

" We were very bad, when we were bad. But when we were good, we were good enough."div align="left">

What he was trying to say that they just held on long enough
when it mattered. For instance, the no.11 holding on long enough at the crease to thwart a most expect Aussie victory.

England enter this Ashes 2010-11 in red hot form. But they would be meeting the Aussies in their own backyard. And don't forget that this is going to be the last Ashes for their proud captain Rickey Ponting. He would love to win this one and walk into the sunset.

We will be covering matchwise analysis of the Ashes as it begins with the 1st Test at Gabba tomorrow. Click here for the >> Star Cricket Live Telecast Schedule of Ashes 2010-11.

If you are looking for further information on live cricket streaming <<>

Sri Lanka vs West Indies 2nd Test Live Streaming

2010-11-22T19:08:00.002+05:30

Sri Lanka vs West Indies, 2nd Test Match at Colombo from 23rd November 2010

Current Series Standing: 0-0

Live Telecast Schedule: Watch the 2nd Test Live on Ten Sports from 4:30 am GMT (about 10:00 am local time in Sri Lanka and India). For Live Cricket Streaming, either click on the title link above or use the comments area to post your remarks. Country wise live telecast schedules and tv channel listings are welcome.

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After that surprisingly good performance form the visitors in the 1st test, the interest in the Sri Lanka vs West Indies test series has gone up. Not too many were giving the Caribbean team any chance when they arrived on their tour to the island nation. But see how the 1st test panned out!

Often, it is one man who stands up tall and motivates and leads others out of the most morose of situations. When India went to Australia on a tour, everyone remembered that the last time they were there they lost 0-3 and they were being ruled out even before the beginning of the series.

Much against plans, Saurav Ganguly stood up with a fine hundred at Adelaide after India had lost a few wickets in the 1st test. How the rest of the series panned out is now part of history.

Can Gayle's triple century turn out to be that innings for West Indies. The once proud team has been pumelled so often in the recent past that they seem to have lost faith in themselves. Let's hope that this was the motivation that they required.

In the 1st Test, they made the favourite team Sri Lanka follow on. Can they go one better this time, and take the lead?

Watch the live streaming of the Sri Lanka vs West Indies 1st test to find out.

Live Streaming: India vs New Zealand 2nd Test

2010-11-13T14:15:00.003+05:30

India vs New Zealand - 2nd Test at Hyderabad, Day 2: Live Report

>> Watch the Match Live on Neo Cricket from 9:30 am IST. Click here for live cricket streaming of the 2nd Test.

Day 1 of the 2nd Test belonged to New Zealand. After India got a very early breakthrough in the form of Brendon McCullum, the two Kiwi batsmen - Martin Guptill and McIntosh thwarted the Indian bowlers for a long, long time to put the tourists in a strong position in the match. The duo added over a hundred runs partnership for the 2nd wicket.

At the end of the 1st day's play, New Zealand were well placed with the score card reading 258/4.

However, in the first session of play on day 2, Indian bowlers struck back with a vengeance. Zaheer Khan claimed 2 and Bhajji claimed 3 wickets as New Zealand inning folded for the addition of about 100 more runs.

Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir opened the Indian reply. Surprisingly and quite against his character Virender Sehwag has been very careful and watchful. The two have already added 50 runs for the opening stand and look good.

At the moment, India appear to have the slight edge in the 2nd Test. But the balance can tilt soon if New Zealand can deliver a few quick blows.

Where are you watching the live cricket streaming? Do share your resources with our readers using the comments area below.

Live Cricket Streaming: India vs Australia 2nd ODI

2010-10-20T16:15:00.003+05:30

India vs Australia, 2nd ODI on 20th October 2010, Host: Vizag, Watch Live Telecast on Neo Cricket from 2:00 pm local time. Click here for >> live cricket streaming.

India won the toss and elected to make first use of the ball. That was a surprising decision from Dhoni on a wicket that has been known to be a run feast in the past. May be the overcast conditions and Duckworth Lewis coming into player may have affected his decision. Because it is definitely better and advantage batting second if duckworth-lewis comes into play.

India will be seeing the debut of two men today - opener Shikhar Dhawan and Ashwin from Chennai. Overall, a very new and young looking Indian team. So no wonder the bookies think that the favourite at the moment is Australia. Not by a huge margin but odds of about 2.15 are being offered on India before the start of the match.

The odds would have been bigger in favour of Australia but for the fact that they too don't have a very settled look about their XI. Clarke is not in the best of form and has been sustained attack from different corners.

Australia will enter the match as slight favourites, but only marginally so. So it should be a close contest between two balanced ODI teams.

While we have provided you with a site for live cricket streaming above, you are welcome to share your live streaming information using the comments area below.

Can India win the 2nd Test?

2010-10-13T01:31:00.002+05:30

India vs Australia, 2nd Test Match (9th to 13th October 2010)

As things stand at close of play on the penultimate day, you might be tempted to think that India are clear favourites. It looks likely that India will complete another fantastic win and make it 2-0.

Today's glorious win against England in the semi-final of the Commonwealth Games, the 32 golds, the grand finish in the 1st Test - Indian sport is on a never before high at the moment. It would only be apt that India attack tomorrow from the word go, finish the Aussie tail quickly and then let the batsmen complete the task and make it a splendid 2-0. After all when did India beat Australia 2-0 ever before?

But we are not so sure about this plan. Click here to see what we think should be India's strategy on the early morning of day 5.

India vs Australia 2nd Test Live Cricket Streaming

2010-10-09T10:53:00.002+05:30

India vs Australia, 2nd Test Match being played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Match Starts Saturday, 9th October 2010. Click here for information on Live Cricket Streaming.

Teams:

India: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, Cheteshwar Pujara, M.S. Dhoni, Sreesanth, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha

Australia: Simon Katich, Shane Watson, Rickey Ponting, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Marcus North, Tim Paine, Mitchell Johnson, Peter George, Nathan Haurtiz, Ben Hilfenhaus

Australia has introduced debutant fast bowler Peter George into their team. He replaced the injured Dougie Bollinger. India has also made two changes to its team. The injured players, VVS Laxman and Ishant Sharma have been left out. Replacing them are Cheteshwar Pujara and Sreesanth respectively.

A tight contest is being expected at Bangalore after the two teams fought a fierce battle in the first match previous week. India lead the series 1-0 right now, but will it finish it like that? This ground has not been a very happy hunting ground for India in the recent past. Dhoni would be hoping to change that fact. Can he do that? Watch the live streaming of the 2nd Test to find out.

India vs Afghanistan Live Cricket Streaming

2010-05-01T16:27:00.002+05:30

India will play its first match of the ICC World Twenty20 Cup today at the Beausejour Stadium in the island country of St Lucia. The India vs Afghanistan match is generating a lot of interest thanks to the curiosity surrounding the cricket team from Afghanistan.

Afghanistan has been the cricket world's newest success story. In the last few years, if there is one new team which has really risen, it is Afghanistan. They won the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifying tournament to make it to the current World Cup happening in West Indies.

India, on the other hand, are one of the tournament favourites. The Indians are now amongst the most experienced T20 players in the world thanks to the IPL. But the IPL may have also left the Indian cricketers fatigued.

Plus, in T20 cricket one never can be sure. A match can turn on its head at any time. So don't miss the live cricket action tonight. Click here to know more about some good options to watch the >> Live Cricket Streaming of the T20 World Cup 2010.

ICC T20 World Cup 2010

2010-04-29T16:42:00.002+05:30

The 3rd ICC World Twenty20 is all set to begin tomorrow in the Caribbean. The home team West Indies takes on Ireland while New Zealand will face Sri Lanka in the opening day's matches tomorrow.

India are in Group C along with South Africa and new entrants Afghanistan.

Find all about the T20 World Cup, and stay in touch with all news and more from the West Indies on our new cricket blog - Butjazz.com. You can check out the following pages:

Kolkata Knight Riders New Purple Jersey: IPL 2010

2010-03-11T22:20:00.003+05:30

The Shahrukh Khan co-owned Kolkata Knight Riders team has not had a very happy time in the two previous editions of the IPL. While they have during both the previous IPLs been the most talked about team, thanks to the star power of SRK and the controversies around Ganguly, their ex-coach John Buchanan and the multiple-captain theory, their performance on the cricket field has not been much to speak about.

Probably that's what has triggered the team management to go for a change of colours. For IPL 2010, the Kolkata Knight Riders are all set to come out in a new colour: PURPLE. Yes, the KKR team have decided to shed their 'gold and black' coloured jerseys and go for 'purple' - probably expecting that the new colour will bring them better luck.

Let's hope that the Purple Knights will do better in IPL 2010. All the best, SRK and Dada!

India vs South Africa | 3rd One Day | Watch Live

2010-02-27T13:23:00.003+05:30

Q. Where can I watch the India vs South Africa 3rd One Day International Match on the 27th February Live?
Answer: You can watch the Live Telecast of this match on the cricket channel of the Neo Group - Neo Cricket. This is a day-night match and hence will start at about 2:30 pm India Standard Time ( or 9:00 am GMT). In case you do not have access to cable TV or DTH, you can also follow the live telecast of the match on the national network of Doordarshan, also populary called DD1.

Gulu Ezekiel to write for Butjazz's Cricket Blog

2010-01-05T15:54:00.003+05:30

We are delighted to announce that Gulu Ezekiel, one of India's biggest names in sports journalisma and the author of many popular books on Cricket will be writing an exclusive weekly column on our new Cricket Blog at Butjazz. (URL: http://cricket.butjazz.com ). Gulu's columns will be published every Tuesday afternoon - you can click here to read his first article which was published a few minutes back.

Dilshan gets into a fight with Kolkata journalist

2009-12-24T13:10:00.002+05:30

On the eve of the 4th one day, two Lankan cricketers - Jayasurya and Dilshan were seen at a nightclub in Kolkata and were accompanied by a young woman friend. When a photogrpaher-journalist from the Telegraph clicked a few pictures of the Lankan duo, Dilshan lost his cool and picked up a fight - Click here to read the full story of How Dilshan lost his cool and a picture of the Lankan cricketers with their lady friend at the night club.

Live Cricket Blog

2009-12-18T15:06:00.004+05:30

Match: India vs Sri Lanka 2nd One Day at Nagpur

India won the toss and elected to bat first.

Score: 27/2, ( Sehwag and Gambhir out, Tendulkar and Virat Kohli at the crease)

Match: Australia vs West Indies

Australia lose another wicket. Injured captain Ponting is forced to come to bat. Live Score: 127/7

Australia don't enforce follow-on. Lose quick wickets in their 2nd innings - 125/6, Lead now 333 runs

Match: England vs South Africa

Strauss falls early. England 112/2 in reply to South Africa's score of 418.

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Is the Umpire Decision Review System any good?

2009-12-18T00:03:00.002+05:30

There are two important test series going on, one each in Australia and South Africa. Both the Australia vs West Indies and the England vs South Africa Test Matches are using the ICC's new Umpire Decision Review System wherein players can appeal against the decision of the on field umpire's decision if they think that the decision has been correct. The Umpire Decision Review System or UDRS as it is being called has raised a huge debate in the cricketing circles, with more cricket players and experts seeming to be against this new tool. Read this piece on my new blog - 'Butjazz' on Why the ICC's Umpire Decision Review System is very good, and the way to go forward.

India vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI at Rajkot | Live Blog

2009-12-15T10:26:00.002+05:30

Live Score from Rajkot: 145/0
India have reached a score of 145 without loss and are currently going at a rate of over 8 runs per over. Sehwag is on 76 off 52 balls and Tendulkar ain't too far behind. The form and mood that Sehwag is in, I don't rule out a first ever ODI double century. A little premature that may be, but then I am a cricket fan...

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Our new Cricket Blog

2009-11-23T21:21:00.002+05:30

Hi!

We have an exciting new address for our cricket blog... You can click on the link below to check out the new set-up where the excitement will be enhanced... frequent posts, regular match reviews and reports, fixtures and schedules of upcoming cricket matches and tours, live cricket scores, tips on batting and betting and much more.. as usual we will discuss all forms of the game - our favourite will still remain the Tests but one day and Twenty20 action will be covered with no less zest. Your suggestions and comments are most welcome.

Click Here to Check it Out >> New Cricket Blog

250 for 4 ducks - Unique Cricket Record

2009-11-03T22:05:00.003+05:30

Cricket has a way of coming up with new and interesting records all the time. In the first of the three match one day series against New Zealand being played today at Abu Dhabi, Pakistan lost its first two wickets even before the score card got ticking for them. Opener Salman Butt and skipper Younis Khan were both dismissed by Shane Bond, one wicket apiece in each one of his first two overs. Two more Pakistani batsmen fell for ducks, making it a total of 4 ducks for the innings. In spite of that, Pakistan went on to score 287 runs and in the process became the first team in the world to cross 250 runs in an ODI in spite of 4 ducks!!

Good Enough England win the Ashes

2009-08-23T23:17:00.003+05:30

"When we are bad, we are very bad but when we are good, we are good enough".

England captain Andrew Strauss aptly summed up in the post-match interview at the Oval how England won the Ashes despite Australia scoring more centuries and taking more wickets in the series. Twice his team was good enough to win the match, once they were good enough to hold on to a draw and in the fourth test when they were bad, they were really bad!

Rahul Dravid makes an ODI comeback

2009-08-17T01:49:00.002+05:30

When Rahul Dravid's name was announced in the list of probables a couple of months back for the Champions Trophy, it almost made it certain that he would make it to the final squad. Were the selectors not to be serious about considering him for the final India Team they wouldn't have bothered to take this risk - or as some critics may say, take this backward step. Now that Dravid has indeed been selected for both the ODI squads - the Champions Trophy as well as the Champions Trophy, I would like to congratulate the selectors for making a wise decision.

For many years now, India's selectors have made too much of a fuss over the age of a cricketer, and the selectors always seem to have been worried about getting the team right for the next World Cup rather than for the immediate requirement, as if all the cricket that is played in the four years between two World Cups doesn't matter, and they are all practise matches leading up to the championship. I can understand a few new guys being blooded six to seven months before the World Cup and that too if it appears that the team is facing a certain weakness in or more departments. But dropping players who should be sure selections to make way for risky newcomers doesn't make any sense. Over time, some players drop form, get injured or need rest for some or the other reason and new players automatically make it - organically. Those who show promise will continue to be fielded and some of them will eventually become regulars. The not so good will fade out. This is a natural process, and unless there is an emergency requirement, I don't see much reason or merit in forcing something. Rarely has this strategy paid dividends in this past. Let's hope that Dravid's inclusion will set a right precedent for the selectors of the future. That the selections to represent India will be on the basis of merit and merit alone. If someone is 40, and still good, great!

T20 World Cup starts with a big upset

2009-06-06T01:47:00.003+05:30

When the inaugural match of the 2nd ICC T20 World Cup began today, bookies were giving odds of 1 to 20 on the Netherlands - meaning if you put 100$ on the dutch and they win, you stand to win 2000$!!! The odds further improved as the England openers piled up the runs and crossed the 80 mark without losing a single wicket at the end of 10 overs. Who would have ever thought of then that the match was about to see a historic upset? But such is the nature of Twenty20 cricket.

England scored a very healthy 162 runs off their allotted 20 overs and when the Netherlands began their chase they lost a couple of early wickets, and it looked like the match was headed in only one direction. But slowly and steadily the runs came, and it was not long before England began to get a little jittery. Rain and Duckworth-Lewis only added to the drama on the first day of the T20 World Cup at Lord's. In spite of the dutch heroics, if the Englishmen had held onto their nerves and avoided even 20% of the many silly errors they committed, they could have saved themselves the blushes. But that was not to be, and England now find themselves in an unexpected do-or-die situation in their next match against Pakistan.

Which teams will reach the IPL Semi Finals?

2009-05-19T02:41:00.004+05:30

So which four teams will finally make it to the semi-finals of the IPL 2009? Delhi is the only very obvious name having already scored 18 points. With a 99.99% confidence one could also say that the Chennai Super Kings are in. Even if Chennai lose their last match to the King's XI Punjab, they will be at 15 points. Out of Bangalore, Deccan and Punjab only two teams can score 16 points. If Rajasthan defeat the Kolkata Knight Riders they will be tied with Chennai on 15 points but there is such a wide chasm in the Net Run Rate (NRR) of the two teams that it will require a super miracle for Rajasthan to overtake Chennai.

So two spots gone - Delhi and Chennai. What about the remaining two? I have created a case by case table. Click here to see the table. There are 12 possible scenarios as of now. Amongst these 12 scenarios, Punjab and Bangalore each feature 6 times. So both these teams have a 50% probability of reaching the IPL 2009 semi finals. Deccan Chargers feature 8 times, thanks to an advantage they have because of their net run rate. That means the Hyderabad team have a 67% probability of making it to the semi-finals. And no, don't count Shane Warne out as yet - Rajasthan feature 4 times which means they have a one in three chance of reaching the IPL semi-finals.

Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals Match Preview

2009-05-11T02:31:00.003+05:30

IPL Season 2 Match No.40 : Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals
Day, Date and Venue: Monday, 11th May, De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley
Team Positions so far:
Deccan Chargers: Played 9, Won 5, Lost 4, Points 10, Net Run Rate: +0.125, Position: 4th
Rajasthan Royals: Played 10, Won 5, Lost 4, No Result 1, Points 11, Net Run Rate: -0.114, Position: 3rd

The Rajasthan Royals are the biggest surprise package of the Indian Premier League. They were dismissed as too weak a team at the start of IPL 2008 and they ended up as champions. After a couple of early losses in the IPL 2009 season, the expert were back to their old whinings: A team is only as good as its captain et cetera, et cetera. Not when Shane Warne is the captain - and to understand this simple fact you don't need to be an expert. You just need to read up a little bit of history, recent past or older, whichever you prefer. Whoever was worried about the Mongols before Chengiz Khan arrived on the scene? Who was afraid of the full-strength Deccan Chargers before another man took charge of a weakened Deccan Chargers?

A captain who was the weakest link in his team's batting line-up stood up with resolve one fine morning in Brisbane, and changed for ever the way India played cricket in Australia. History is replete with several examples where men of strength and character have not just stood up themselves, but raised the morale and stock of an entire lot, in trying and the most difficult of circumstances. The IPL is nothing really, by way of comparison. Yet, the basic principles remain the same. Warnie is just smart enough to understand that, and doing his job well.

Cricket is quite unlike many a other sport in many ways. For one, it is a physical sport yet the mental aspect is as important as the physical. The scope for decisions is wide, and every decision you take can be crucial. If you win the toss, do you bat first or second? Should you play an extra spinner? Does this batsman warrant an extra slip? 3rd slip or 4th? And these are only very few examples. Even in a Twenty20 game, a captain would have to take no less than a 100 decisions! And in close games, which is more the rule than the exception in IPL, even the smallest decisions count. If Brendon Mc Cullum had employed a slip in the match today against Delhi, a 4th wicket would have fallen in the 12th over. Who knows how things would have turned out from there on? Delhi never lost a 4th wicket and went on to win the match comfortably.

Shane Warne is not god, may be he too may not have used a slip if he were in the place of the beleagured Kiwi. But what he assures you of is that he will take more decisions correct than most other guys around. He can think, and that is not such a commonly found characteristic amongst sportspersmen. And that's what makes him a very good captain. Most of these guys who are telling you on your television screens that a captain is only as good as his team are former sportsmen, and I have already pointed out a characteristic they lack.

Shane Warne is what makes tomorrow's contest against the Deccan Chargers interesting. Else, on paper you can safely see the chasm between the two teams and decide the result beforehand. But ask the bookies, and they will tell you what the odds are. Unlike the experts on TV, the bookies don't get a fixed check at the end of the tournament. That's why the betting odds on Will Hill are always a better indicator of the future than predictions of former cricketers.

Current Odds on William Hill:

Deccan Chargers: 10/11, Rajasthan Royals: 10/11, Now go have a look at the teams!

Rahul Dravid equals Maximum Catches Record of Mark Waugh

2009-03-18T04:01:00.001+05:30

The first wicket has fallen in the India vs New Zealand Test Series. Test debutant fell early - the bowler was Zaheer Khan, and when Rahul Dravid took a beauty of a catch in the slips, his tally of catches in test cricket swelled to 108. He has now equalled the world record for the maximum number of catchs in test matches and is now tied with Australia's Mark Waugh.

Allan Stanford charged of fraud in US

2009-02-18T03:31:00.003+05:30

T20 Cricket Tycoon and Texan Billionaire Allen Stanford is in the midst of another controversy. Barely had the murmur over his "lap sitting with Matt Prior's wife and other English Cricketers' WAGs" subsided, here's the big one.

Reports coming in say that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States are investigating a fraud case against Allen Stanford which could be of massive proportions. It is being alleged by the SEC that Stanford and his crony of close friends may have lied making false promises and manipulating historical data to cheat potential investors.

The English Cricket Board which has already taken a lot of flak for its dealing with Allen Stanford has been quick to distance itself from the billionaire, saying it is suspending any further negotiations with Stanford pending the results of the investigation.

It's almost crazy now the amount of off-field controversy that the game of cricket seems to keep getting shrouded in.

Click here for our previous story and image on the controversy over Allen Stanford and the Lap of Matt Prior's Wife.

Shilpa Shetty buys stake in Rajasthan Royal (IPL)

2009-02-03T15:55:00.002+05:30

Get ready for some exciting off-field juice from Jaipur this IPL summer. When a certain Shane Warne is the captain, and a sizzling hot Shilpa Shetty the owner you can sure expect some news, can't you?

The Bollywood actress has picked up a 12% stake in the Indian Premier League team Rajasthan Royals which won the inaugural IPL championship in 2008. Details of the deal are not yet known - it may be a cash + brand ambassadorship deal .

India vs Sri Lanka | Live Cricket Streaming Schedule | 5 ODIs & 1 T20 match

2009-01-22T12:46:00.003+05:30

We will soon update this post to include the Live Cricket Streaming Schedule of the India - Sri Lanka Series 2009.

Here's the full schedule of India's hurriedly arranged brief cricket tour of Sri Lanka in January - February 2009. The India vs Sri Lanka series consists of 5 one day matches and 1 T20 game. Of course, the BCCI has not asked for any tests.

1st ODI: India vs Sri Lanka

Wednesday, 28th January - Dambulla

2nd ODI:

Friday, 30th January - Dambulla

3rd ODI:

Monday, 2nd February - Colombo

4th ODI:

Thursday, 5th February - Colombo

5th ODI:

Sunday, 8th February - Colombo

Only T20 Match: India vs Sri Lanka

Tuesday, 10th February - Colombo

You are welcome to share your Live Cricket Streaming Links for the India vs Sri Lanka Series. While leaving the links in the comments area please add more details about the quality of the stream, whether it's free or paid and the package rates.

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka | Schedule | One Days

2009-01-21T13:41:00.003+05:30

1st ODI : 20th January, Karachi (Day Night Game)
2nd ODI: 21st January, Karachi (Day Night Game)
3rd ODI: 24th January, Lahore (Day Night Game)

Live Telecast of the Cricket Matches will start at 0700 hrs GMT for the Karachi matches and 0630 hrs for the Lahore Match. You can watch the cricket live on Ten Sports.

Gaming goes big in NCR

2009-01-08T12:51:00.002+05:30

Academy of Animation and Gaming (AAG) which currently has a student base of 400+ students is situated at Noida and Gurgaon. AAG is a pioneer in the field of education related to animation and gaming, running courses like BSc.in Animation in collaboration with Toonskool, Karnataka thereby awarding a UGC recognized degree from Karnataka State Open University.Another Degree offered is BA (Hons.) in animation with the final year being conducted at University of Teesside, UK, our partner university; one of the ten best universities in the world in animation & gaming. Apart from these various courses like diploma in animation, course in game art and game programming and design is also being conducted by then .Details about the institute can be found on the website www.aag.edu.in.

With the objective of popularizing the activity animation and gaming amongst the Indian youth AAG is organizing a gaming competition, SPLITFIRE in their own premisesAcademy of Animation & Gaming (AAG), B-10, Sector 2, NOIDA, from 9th-11th Jan, 2009. The event would be inaugurated on 9th January, 2009 at 10.30 am by Mr.Sandeep Aurora, Director Sales & Marketing, North & East, INTEL. Guest of honour would be Mr. Manvendra Shukul, CEO, Lakshya Digital, the Institutes placement partner and India's biggest game art company.

Over 1400 students are expected to take part apart in the event. If you are interested in participating, you can refer to the company website or contact Mr Arindam Bhattacharyya at 9312600283

Sydney, Christchurch, Chittagong

2009-01-02T22:19:00.004+05:30

The first international cricket matches of 2009 go live tomorrow morning. Six of the Test playing nations will be in action tomorrow, and the next five days promise a lot of excitement and change.

Traditionally the New Year Test in Sydney starts on the 2nd Jan. Traditionally Australia begin as favourites. Not so tomorrow - the test is starting a day late, and underdogs Australia will go into the match trying to avoid an embarrasing first-ever whitewash at home. South Africa will be raring to make it 3-0 and climb to the top of the ICC Test Ratings.

Normally Bangladesh fans would expect only so much from their test team. Normally Bangladesh fans wouldn't expect their team to fold for under 200 while chasing the mammoth targets set by the opposite team. Not so tomorrow - Ashraful's men may have lost the last test, but they have inspired hope. Forget the result - few teams score over 400 runs in the 4th innings; Bangladesh scored 413 in the fourth innings of the last test! The bar has been raised like never before - Sri Lanka can be expected to come at the home team harder than before, but Bangladesh look like they can do the impossible now. Actually, it doesn't look impossible any more - and that's what makes the Chittagong test important.

The 3rd game is a less interesting one-day affair between two teams which have been stuck in the middle of the international cricket peckings for over a decade now. But it's a match of cricket - can that ever be too dull?!

Australia vs South Africa | 2nd Test | Melbourne

2008-12-28T23:35:00.003+05:30

Who could have ever predicted that at the end of the 3rd day's play at the MCG, it would be Australia that would be trailing! Fascinating Test Cricket again - even after the 1st Test of the series turned on its head in the final quarter of the match only last week, no one expected this. Yesterday evening, Rickey Ponting must have been a satisfied captain - a lead of over 200 runs, and 7 South African wickets back in the pavillion already. The match looked well and truly in the bag.

Day 2 in the Boxing Day Test began with the overnight batsmen Duminy and Harris beginning cautiously - the runs never came at a brisk pace, but the important thing was that the final three wickets didn't fall in hurry. Duminy was brilliant, playing with the last three - Harris gave him good company to settle the mood for the day, and then Steyn hung on - not without ample support from the Aussie fielders. When the final South African wicket fell, the scorecard read 459 - a healthy lead of 65 runs. Duminy was the last batsman to fall, not before compiling a brilliant 166.

While the match is still alive and evenly poised, South Africa have already dented the Aussie spirit like no other visiting team has in the past so many years. The visitors are already 1-0 up in the series, and the onus is completely on Australia to try and set up a win from here, and it is in that Aussie hurry to win that South Africa will see their chances of going up 2-0. Now when was the last time you saw that kind of a scenario against Australia, in Australia? So don't miss live action tomorrow and the day after.

Mumbai Blasts derail India-England Series

2008-11-27T15:33:00.002+05:30

The English Cricket Board's request for a postponement of the final 2 India vs England ODIs because of the terror strikes in Mumbai has been accepted by the BCCI. In all likelihood, the final 2 One Dayers would be called off, though a call on the 2 test series will be taken later.

The 2nd India-England Test Match is in fact scheduled for Mumbai, and the Taj Mahal Hotel, the scene of the crime might have been the hosts for the two cricket teams.

The fidayeen strikes have also jeopardised the holding of the Champions Twenty20 League which again had Mumbai as one of its venues. Rickey Ponting, the Australia captain and Shane Warne have both already called for the Champions T20 League to be shifted out of India.

Gavaskar was no angel : Ponting

2008-11-19T22:14:00.003+05:30

The war of words never seems to end. Now it's Australia captain Rickey Ponting lashing out at Sunil Gavaskar.

"Sunny was no angel in his playing days", commented Ponting referring to an incident in the 1981 India vs Australia Test, when Gavaskar walked out protesting an lbw decision.

While Ponting pointed out Gavaskar in particular, the Aussie captain also lashed out at the 'hypocrisy' of many former cricket legends who he thinks expect current cricketers to behave in a certain way, while their own behaviour and talk during their playing days was less than exemplary.

Ponting was worried that over the last 10 years a certain image was getting formed of the Australian cricketers - that they walked onto the field with an intention of having a few words with the opposition.

He is worried alright, but instead of lashing out at Gavaskar, Ponting would do better to rein in himself and his colleagues if he wants this image to change. Only yesterday, Daniel Vettori just ahead of the Australia - New Zealand series called Ponting the most aggressive person on the cricket field who was always 'spoiling for a fight'. Vettori is surely no former cricketer, Mr. Ponting.

England begin India tour with a win in Mumbai

2008-11-09T20:34:00.003+05:30

Even as India was engaged in the last test against Australia in Nagpur, England began their 2008 Test and One-Day tour to India with a win against a Mumbai side led by spinner Nilesh Kulkarni. Flintoff top scored for the visitors with a less than a ball 100. Owais Shah and Ian Bell contributed with half-centuries as England, batting first, piled up a score of 297. James Anderson took 3 wickets as Mumbai were restricted to 175 off their quota of 50 overs to hand England a 122 runs victory.

Performances in tour games don't mean much, as Krejza showed with a 12 wickets haul in his debut cricket test after having been overlooked for the first 3 tests after the mauling he received at then hands of lesser batsmen, in a tour game. But a win is a win, and a century is a century - and England, and Flintoff would be pleased with the way they have begun their India campaign.

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1st ODI Match : India vs England - 14th November 2008.
Click here for the Full Schedule of the India vs England Series

India Team for ODI Series vs England

2008-11-06T02:04:00.002+05:30

At least one man in India will not be too displeased with the one Test ban that has come Gambhir's way. After having been selected to replace Gautam Gambhir in the India Team for the 4th Test against Australia, Vijay has now made it to the just announced India Team for the first 3 one day internationals against England.

Sachin Tendulkar has been rested for the first 3 ODIs on request while Badrinath, Praveen Kumar, Irfan Pathan and Parthiv Patel - who were a part of the India Team for the ODI series against Sri Lanka have not found a place in the new squad. Ishant Sharma returns to the team and alongwith Zaheer Khan, R P Singh and Munaf Patel will form a formidable pace attack to choose from. T20 star Yusuf Pathan is in too.

The Full Team for the first 3 matches of the India vs England One Day Series 2008:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain, Wicketkeeper), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay,Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Rudra Pratap Singh, Virat Kohli, Harbhajan Singh

Live action begins 14th November 2008.

India vs England | Schedule | One Day Series | Test Series

2008-11-05T21:20:00.004+05:30

Just a few days after the current 4 Test India-Australia series comes to a close, India begin another home series - against England. The series comprises a bit too much of one day cricket - 7 ODIs in all , while the number of tests is sadly only two.

Find below the full schedule of the India Vs England ODI series with match dates, venues and timings at which you can start watching live cricket streaming or the live telecast on TV. The touring England side will play a couple of practise matches against Mumbai - the venue for both matches is the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. The matches are on the 9th and 11th November.

1st One Day International : India vs England

Date: Friday 14 November, Venue: Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, Rajkot

Live TV Telecast of the cricket match starts 9:00 am (India Time) / 3:30 am (GMT)

The India-England series can be viewed live on Neo Cricket.

2nd One Day International : India vs England

Date: Monday 17 November, Venue: Maharani Usha Raje Trust Cricket Stadium in Indore

Day schedule same as above match

3rd ODI

Date: Thursday 20 November, Venue: Green Park, Kanpur

Watch Live Cricket action from 9:00 am India Time ( Live on NeoCricket )

4th ODI : India vs England

Sunday 23 November, Venue: M Chinnaswami Stadium, Bangalore

Day Night Match :: Watch Live Cricket on Neo Cricket from 2:00 pm India Time, 6:30 pm GMT

5th One-Day International : India-England

Wednesday 26 November, Venue: Barabati Stadium, Cuttack

Day Night Match : Live on Neo Cricket, Timings as in the 4th ODI

6th ODI

Saturday 29 November, Venue: Nehru Stadium, Guwahati

Day Match : Live Telecast from 9:00 am India Time

7th One Day: India vs England

Date: 2 December, Venue: Feroze Shah Kotla, Delhi

Before the commencement of the 2 test series, England will play a 3 day practise match against a local team in Baroda.

The Schedule of the India vs England 2 test series:

1st Test: 11th - 15th November, Motera, Ahmedabad

2nd Test: 19th - 23rd December, Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai ( not Wankhede)

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Click here for Live Cricket Streaming Links for the India vs England Series

Gilchrist Going Nuts - Now it's Muralitharan's Action

2008-11-04T23:16:00.005+05:30

He is retired now, and doesn't know what to do when not playing cricket. Or, it is a desperate marketing strategy for his autobiography? Whatever be the case, the former Australian keeper who was often described as the 'greatest current all-rounder' now seems to be fast losing it.

True Colours : My Life already seems to be more about the lives of other cricketers rather than Gilchrist's own. First it was his bit about Tendulkar's lack of honesty during the famed Sydney Trial, now it is about Muralitharan's bowling action. Gilly believes that Murali has a suspect action, and the ICC bent the rules of cricket to accommodate the Lankan. His part about ICC bending the rules of the game to accommodate is a fair accusation, but if Gilly really had the balls to be honest, he should not have singled out Muralitharan and stopped there, but come out with the whole scary truth.

As Gilchrist rightly points out, the ICC did change the rules - the definition of what constitutes a 'legal delivery' was indeed modified. But the redefinition was not to accommodate Muralitharan - it was to ensure that two of Gilchrist's own team-mates, Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie amongst many other leading bowlers of the world were not outlawed alongwith Murali!

Following Hair's no-balling Muralitharan for throwing, the ICC initiated a study of the bowling actions of bowlers across the world. This study revealed some shocking statistics - as per the existing laws of cricket, more than 90 percent of bowlers were chucking, not bowling! Imagine a scenario where the ICC had to ban McGrath, Pollock, Gillespie and Brett Lee - the world of cricket would have gone topsy turvy, at least temporarily international cricket would have come to a grinding halt. That's what hurried the ICC into amending the definition of a valid bowling action. Both McGrath and Lee were going beyond the ten degrees limit, and on a regular basis - it was not even a case where only the doosra was a problem.

Surely Gilly knows about this - then why this distortion of truth?

Gilchrist calls that change of rule by the ICC to accommodate Murali 'horse-crap'. The truth is that it is he who is trying to bull-shit his way to a best-seller. I also fear that he might actually succeed.

Live Cricket Streaming | India vs England ODI Series

2008-11-04T23:01:00.003+05:30

Are you a cricket lover stuck in a place with no live telecast of the cricket on TV? If so, then you may be searching for information and links for watching Live Cricket Streaming Online on the internet, maybe for free! The India-England One-Day Series starts on 14th November 2008 with the 1st ODI match in Rajkot, hardly a few days after the fourth Test between India and Australia ends in Nagpur.

You can check this previous post to get more information and to get links for Live Cricket Streaming for the India vs England ODI Series 2008 . If you have useful info regarding free cricket sopcasts or webcasts, please share it with fellow cricket fans using the comments area of this blogspot.

Gambhir appeal rejected | will miss Nagpur Test

2008-11-04T19:44:00.004+05:30

Gautam Gambhir who was handed out a one test ban for 'making physical contact' with Shane Watson in the previous test at Delhi had appealed against the ban, and the BCCI was expecting that either the appeal would be upheld or at least the decision would be delayed enough to allow Gambhir to participate in the 4th test against Australia at Nagpur. But unfortunately, the ICC match commissioner acted quick and the decision has been swift and Gambhir's appeal has been rejected.

Latest reports suggest that the BCCI has refused to accept the rejection of the appeal against Gambhir and will be protesting against it. But they are left with little time, and it will be interesting to see if the BCCI can engage in some quick back-room diplomacy and manage to get Gambhir in, in time.

Anil Kumble Announces Retirement from Cricket

2008-11-02T13:51:00.005+05:30

Breaking News:

Anil Kumble has announced he is retiring from International Cricket at the end of the current Delhi Test between India and Australia.

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Read previous post on "Anil Kumble to announce retirement"

Anil Kumble to Announce Retirement

2008-11-01T14:42:00.003+05:30

A 5 wicket haul for part time spinner Virender Sehwag on a Kotla track may just hasten a decision which wasn't far off even otherwise. While Sehwag's figures at tea on day 4 of the 3rd India - Australia test read 40-9-104-5, Kumble had just one wicket to show in what is his favourite hunting ground. Add to that his current injury problems, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni pressing hard to displace him from the top job, and Anil Kumble may not be left with much choice.

Compounding problems further would be the speed with which the BCCI has obtained a TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption) Certificate to administer a steroid on Harbhajan Singh that could give the offie significant relief and allow him to play the Nagpur Test. Thankfully for Kumble, the star of the previous test Amit Mishra has failed as much as him else the public and media pressure would have been in the extreme.

There would be only one question in Kumble's mind - should he announce his retirement immediately after the Delhi Test or wait for Nagpur and hopefully retire on a winning note. Only recently had he remarked about "bowing out on his own terms" and I suspect Nagpur may be his last chance to do that.

Pictures of Matt Prior's wife sitting on Allen Stanford's laps -

2008-11-01T04:31:00.005+05:30

Imagine Mrs Dhoni sitting on IPL chief Lalit Modi's lap! Thankfully Mrs Dhoni is still an imaginary being, and Modi is not Stanford. Else you could be guaranteed a milion non-stop videos of that on India TV and the many other idiotic news channels. But the T20 for 20 is real and so is Mrs Matt Prior, and Allen Stanford did manage to get the wife of the English wicket keeper on his lap, during a T20 for 20 match in Antigua.

Yes, that indeed is the Texan Billionaire Allen Stanford with Matt Prior's wife on his lap and surrounded by the wives and girlfriends (WAGs) of the English cricketers who are in Antigua for the T20 for 20 million $ Cricket Super Series. Imagine the shock of Matt Prior, Kevin Pietersen and other English cricketers when they saw this images being flashed live on the screen in the ground.

Stanford has since personally apologised to the English players, saying he was unaware they were the English cricketers' WAGs. "The girl who was stood up plopped down on my knee. I did not put her on my knee or sit here on my lap, she just plopped down. It was strictly an innocent thing. I apologised to Matt and to Kevin (Pietersen, the England captain)," he said.

The Importance of Lalit Modi

2008-11-01T01:18:00.003+05:30

" There are a whole nest of issues around this appointment, and you have to wonder how Lalit Modi will respond as well. "
- Sean Morris, Chief Executive of the Professional Cricketers' Action (PCA), reacting to the appointment of Mushtaq Ahmed as England's spin bowling coach.

Two Double Hundreds in a Test Innings: Rare Record

2008-10-30T15:35:00.007+05:30

When VVS Laxman completed his double century in the ongoing 3rd Test against Australia in Delhi, a little after Gambhir had completed his, the duo joined a rare club of 'twin double centurions in a single Test Innings'. Here is a compilation of the other instances of this record - I have manually compiling this list, and is not yet complete. Should be a finished product in a day or two.

1. Pakistan vs West Indies, Venue: Jamaica, 26 Feb - 4 Mar 1958 ( 6 day test )

Chasing Pakistan's 1st innings total of 328, West Indies piled up a score of 790. Opener Conrad Hunte scored 260 and Gary Sobers scored his famous 365 not out.

2. Sri Lanka vs South Africa, Venue: Colombo, 27 - 31 July 2005

After dismissing the tourists for a sub 200 score, Sri Lanka went on to make 756/5 declared. This included a triple hundred from captain Mahela Jayawardene who fell 1 short of Lara's mark of 375. Kumar Sangakkara narrowly missed his triple hundred falling for 287, else a record of two triple hundreds in an innings would have been one massive one, and unlikely to be ever overtaken.

3. Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe, Venue: Bulawayo, 14 - 17 May 2004

Sri Lanka's 1st Innings total of 713 for 3 included two double centuries, one each by Kumar Sangakkara and Marvan Attapattu. Both double hundreds came at good pace - Sangakkara's 270 came at a strike rate of 74 while Attapattu's knock of 249 was even better at 76.85

4. Australia vs England, Venue: Kennington Oval, 18,20,21, 22 Aug 1934 (Timeless Test Match)

Australia lost a quick 1st wicket when opener Brown fell with the total at 21. His opening partner Ponsford was joined by the Don and by the time the second wicket fell, the score card read 472. Bradman got out for 244 - if Sangakkara and Attapattu were quick, this was a lightning knock. Comprising 32 boundaries and 1 six, Bradman's 244 came at a strike rate of over 90. Ponsford's 266 was more sedate at 63.33

5. Australia vs England, 13-19 December 1946 (six day test), Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground

Both Sid Barnes and Don Bradman compiled identical scores of 234 in the 1st Innings of this Ashes Tes. What were not identical were the scoring rates - the Don himself scored a slow double by his standards, at a strike rate of 59.09 but it was Barnes' knock which was a specially laborious one. In his 649 minutes vigil at the crease, he faced no fewer than 667 balls - the innings was spread over 3 days!

6. England vs India, 13-18 January 1985, Venue: Chepauk, Chennai

Opener Fowler and Mike Gatting, both got double centuries for England in the 1st Innings of the test. While Fowler scored 201, Gatting got 207.

7. Australia vs West Indies, 5 - 11 May 1965 (6 day test), Venue: Bridgetown Barbados

Both the Australian openers, Bill Lawry and Bob Simpson scored double hundreds as Australia declared their 1st Innings at 650/6. Simpson's brave second innings declaration made it a very interesting test but he was fortunate in being saved from the blushes as time ran out on West Indies when they were just 11 short of the target, with 5 wickets remaining.

Narrow Misses:
India vs Pakistan Multan Test: Rahul Dravid declared when Tendulkar was on 194. Sehwag had scored a triple hundred in the same innings.

In the 1984 Faisalabad Test against India, Qasim Umar got a double hundred in the 1st Innings but the record was missed by the narrowest margin when Mudassar Nazar was unlucky to be dismissed on 199.

In Independent India's 1st test series against Australia in January 1948, Don Bradman scored a double hundred in the 1st Innings of the Adelaide Test. But this unique rare test record of two hundreds in an innings was missed as Allan Hasset was left stranded on 194 when the last Aussie wicket fell.

During the 1st Test of the 1981 New Zealand - Sri Lanka series a most unique record was narrowly missed - 'twin double hundreds in the second innings of a test match'. Andrew Jones missed his double hundred by 14 runs. The one who did go on to get his double hundred was more unfortunate though - Martin Crowe got out for 299.

Another chance to get this unique record came India's way in the famous Kolkata Test against Australia. That opportunity was lost in a very similar way as in the above Test - while one batsman (VVS Laxman) narrowly missed his triple hundred, his partner Dravid was unfortunately run out when his score was 180.

First Left Hand Double Century against Australia

2008-10-30T12:55:00.005+05:30

Did you know that Gautam Gambhir just became the first left-hand opening batsman in history to score a double century against Australia?

(Australia played its first test a hundred and thirty four years before, and the Delhi Test is their 699th)

info source: Ian Chappell, informing ex-Australia captain and left-hand batsman Allan Border, on Neo Cricket.

Laxman vs Australia

2008-10-30T11:38:00.003+05:30

Just 13 hundreds and a little over 6000 runs at an average below 45 are not the statistics that can assure VVS Laxman a place amongst the all time greats of the game. That do not even place him against India's best. Tendulkar has twice the number of runs and thrice the number of centuries. Ganguly, surely an inferior test batsman has more runs to show than the stylish Hyderabadi. Gavaskar, Dravid, Vengsarkar, Azharuddin and Vishwanath would all be ahead of Laxman in any list of India's all time test greats. But what make him special are his sublime touch and his record against the World Champions.

Earlier today, he completed his 6th ton against Australia. That's about half of his total number of centuries. Against an overall career average of 45, his average against Australia is over 50, and by the time the current India-Australia series comes to a close, he should have finished with a career batting average of about 55 against Australia. Of his 6000 runs, one-third of them have been aggregated against the Aussies. What makes his record against the world's leading test team even more special is the fact that he has been more successful against them in their own backyard. Laxman has 4 hundreds and over 1000 runs against Australia in Australia.

While almost every other leading batter in the world has used the matches against the minnows to prop up their batting averages, Laxman's career average against Zimbabwe is below his career average and against Bangladesh about 20. He seems to relish the challenge of playing against the world's best, and it's fitting that he will be playing his 100th test against his favourite opposition. The Nagpur test will be a very, very special one indeed!

Will the real ICC please stand up?

2008-10-29T17:34:00.010+05:30

Sometimes one can almost sympathize with the ICC - that Cricket's governing body has to find time to investigate 'possible murders' is strange. Last year it was Bob Woolmer's death under mysterious circumstances during the Word Cup in the West Indies. Now it is a Fiji cricketer found in a pool of blood during the recently concluded Division 4 World Cricket League.

But shouldn't the ICC hand over the investigation to the police and instead focus its attention on managing cricket, and try and do a good job of it? Strange are the range of activities which keep the ICC officials busy. President Morgan has ensured that the controversial 2006 Oval Test between Pakistan and England is back in news. Umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove had adjudicated the match in favour of England, after the Pakistan players didn't show up on the field for the post-tea session on the 4th day of the test, protesting against the umpires accusing them of ball-tampering during the match. Subsequently, the ICC had reversed this result and now Morgan wants this decision to be reversed.

That match is well overs 2 years into the past, and the ICC would have been best left getting over with and getting on along with the current set of problems, which aren't exactly minor in nature. At the rate at which Modi, Stanford and the rest of the T20 band are growing, on either side of the equator, Test Cricket may be dead sooner rather than later. In cricket crazy India, an India-Australia test last week was played in front of a largely empty stadium. England, who were reluctant playing too many ODIs until a few years back now don't mind flying all the way to Antigua to face Middlesex for the Stanford T20 Super Series. IPL has already strained relations between the India and Sri Lanka Cricket Boards. The other T20 major, Indian Cricket League (ICL) has weaned away a large chunk of the Bangladesh Cricket team. New Zealand players are already threatening to go the Bangladesh way - and if they haven't already it's not for the charm of playing Test Cricket, but the lure of the the IPL T20 lucre.

Cricket, as we have known and loved it, is under threat from inside - from another game, which is trying to pass itself off as cricket. It is time Morgan and his men wake up to this danger and direct all their resources and energies in the right direction, and save cricket from extinction.

India vs Australia : Delhi Test - Will Bhajji make way for Kumble?

2008-10-27T03:48:00.005+05:30

The BCCI is already ready with an ornate scroll to be presented to commemorate VVS Laxman's 100th test match appearance when India take on Australia in the 4th and final test match of the series at Nagpur. That match can't be Laxman's 100th should he not play in Kotla. Anil Kumble has already announced in his newspaper column that he is fit and ready to take on the field in the 3rd Test. Will the spin-maestro be able to reclaim his deserved place in the team? If he indeed does, as he should, the winning combination will have to be disturbed. But the question remains - who will be the chosen scapegoat?

Gambhir can't be dropped on form, Tendulkar, Dravid and Sehwag on form and more and Ganguly definetely cannot be - it's the penultimate test of an illustrious career and with a series average of 66.73 at the end of the 2nd Test, he is a potential contender for the Man-of-the-series. No one can dare think of sitting out Dhoni, even if he had not been averaging over 80 yet. That leaves us with the bowlers - Zaheer, Ishant, Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra. So which one of these four will be sacrificed to accomodate Kumble?

We can safely rule out the first two - dropping even one will imbalance the team and both are currently posing enough questions to the Australian batters with reverse swing. Ideally, it is Mishra who should sit out because he came in to replace an injured Kumble. Now that the captain is fit, Mishra must bide his team before he earns a regular spot in the India test XI. But it was Mishra's 1st innings demolition of the Aussie batting that sealed India's victory. Against a lesser opposition, the selectors might have still overlooked that match wining figures of 7/106. Remember Arun Lal? Even after scoring fifities in either innings of the test, didn't he have to make way for Gavaskar who had opted out of the Kolkata Test against Pakistan in the 1987 series. Mishra may not be comparable to Gavaskar in stature yet the selectors wouldn't want to make a wrong move that can jeopardise India's chances of grabbing back the Border-Gavaskar trophy from the cricket World Champions. India are 1-0 ahead and Mishra was instrumental in that solitary win. If he even comes close to his Bangalore performance in either of the remaining 2 tests, it will be sufficient to finish with a memorable win. That leaves us with just one name.

Over two days still remain before the Delhi match goes live, and the preparation for dropping the Turbanator seems to have already begun. During net practise at the Feroze Shah Kotla yesterday, Harbhajan Singh left the field after bowling just a couple of overs. Later in the day, while answering questions from the media, Dravid said it was because Bhajji had 'slight pain in the toe but nothing serious'. I fear that is just the first episode of a 3-act play which will ultimately result in Bhajji's omission from the Indian cricket team for the Delhi Test.

If Mishra has tormented Australia once, Bhajji has done it many a times before - once through a whole series, and not just with the ball. It is not easy to explain dropping Harbhajan Singh - the spinner is in fine form and the Aussies would be happy not seeing him in the final India XI. That necessitates this 3-act play. First let the media watch Bhajji bowling just 2 overs in the net and then dismiss the first round of questioning, as if to portray that he is fine and will play. In the second act, let the 'injury problem' escalate though still sounding hopeful of a 'recovery in time'. In the final act, make a last moment announcement of his having to sit out so that the on-field action will ensure that the off-field acts don't grab as much media and public attention.

But then, do they have an alternative? Truth causes too many problems, too many questions. A lie will keep everyone happy - Kumble is back as captain, Shashank Manohar gets to present the ornate scroll to Laxman for playing 100 tests, Laxman gets to play his 100th test and the team balance is retained. If India wins as it is likely to, we will all forget this little episode but should things go awry and Kumble fails with the ball, then there might be a 4th act to this play. Again unless Kumble has already been talked to about his retirment plans!

Huge disappointment for Bangladesh

2008-10-21T19:55:00.002+05:30

One player from Newzealand finally came in between Bangladesh and its surge towards a first test victory over a major test playing nation. It was a spirited performance from Bangladesh in the 1st test of the 3-match series being played at Chittagong, but in the end captain Vettori's splendid all-round performance claiming 9 wickets and half-centuries in either innings ensured that Newzealand managed to reach home with 3 wickets remaining and in the process breaking a million Bangla hearts.

Compare Vettori's performance with the other test captain who finished with the man-of-the-match award on the same day and you will realize what a grand effort it was. In India's annihilation of Australia, Dhoni's twin fifties were enough to bag him the MOM award. Vettori, besides doing that, also bagged 9 wickets. Unlike India who outplayed Australia on each of the 5 days of the test, captain Vettori had to maintain his composure in a test, where Bangladesh were on top for the first 3 and a half days. (not for nothing is he amongst my favourite cricket players in the world - see pic on right column, top)

Two more tests still remain in each of the two test series being played in the subcontinent, and both teams from down under seem to be under huge pressure, though of different kinds. Whatever the final outcomes, the next couple of weeks surely promise the most exciting cricket action, and for a change, not of the quicker variety and neither off-the-field.

When should India declare? (India vs Australia, 2nd Test)

2008-10-19T23:10:00.002+05:30

India vs Australia, 2nd Test, Mohali
Scorecard at stumps on Day 3

India 1st Innings: 469 all out, Australia 1st Innings: 268 all out
India 2nd Innings: 100 without loss

With Stowage and Gambhir having already added 100 runs at just over 4 rpo and both still at the crease, India are already 301 runs ahead of Australia and well poised to go to Kotla with an important lead of 1-0. But the important decision tomorrow for captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be - when should India declare?

Arguments are flying thick and fast that India shouldn't get defensive and go for an aggressive declaration, Australia style. But is that required? I was following the post-match discussion on Neo-Cricket, where Arun Lal was trying to make a very pertinent point which unfortunately no one on the panel or in the audience was bothering to understand. Why Lal was against the idea of declaring at lunch was very logical - that would leave Australia with 150 overs and a little over 400 to get. If Australia bat out 150 overs, they would reach 400; in fact they would reach 400 in about 140 overs. That means '10 overs are wasted' - neither India needs them, nor Australia. What that means that India must bundle out Australia in under 140 overs. So wouldn't it be more sensible to bat for another 10 overs, get about 50 more runs and put the match completely out of Australia's reach? That may sound like a typical Indian defensive stance but it's not - it only allows Dhoni to give Mishra and Harbhajan that much more chance of taking a wicket by employing a more attacking field. Surely you do not want a situation where India has to go on the defensive by the end of day 4, were Australia to reach a score of 180 for the loss of 2 or 3 wickets.

Here's a table I have created which clearly illustrates that '5 overs after lunch' or 35 overs into tomorrow is when the ideal declaration time would be. Of course, Dhoni could employ someone to create a more dynamic 'excel sheet' to help him decide, factoring in a few more situations, mainly pertaining to the run-rate scenario.

Assuming India's Expected Run Rate on Day 4 is 4.5 rpo	No. of overs Left	Lead	Target for Australia	Assuming Australia chases at 3 rpo
				Overs reqd to achieve target
Start of Day	180	301	302	101
At Lunch	150	436	437	146
5 overs more	145	458.5	460	153

Ganguly overtakes Bradman

2008-10-17T17:01:00.003+05:30

Sir Don Bradman: 6996 Test Runs, retired.
Saurav Ganguly: 7000+ Test Runs, Unbeaten in current match against Australia, going strong!

Umpire Appeals in next India Pakistan test series

2008-10-15T23:31:00.002+05:30

The ICC has approved an extension of the Umpire Review System first used in the recently concluded India-Sri Lanka test series. Four future series including the forthcoming India-Pakistan test series have been earmarked for further testing of the review system. Although Indian captain Kumble didn't appreciate the experiment much, that can largely be attributed to the atrocious results that India got in the review system. A total of 48 appeals for a review of the on-field umpire's decisions were made in that series out of which 25% were upheld by the television umpire. Of these 12 successful decisions, 11 went in favour of Sri Lanka with India getting only the solitary decision in their favour. That obviously irked the Indians, but then technically the ICC and not IPL is still in charge of world cricket.

The next bilateral series where the review system will be employed is the Newzealand vs West Indies test series in December. The appeals system wherein each team is allowed 3 unsuccessful appeals per innings, from what we saw of it in its maiden appearance in Sri Lanka is a great move forward - bringing in technology to improve the percentage of correct decisions will help decrease the stress on the two umpires in the middle and reduce tension between players that often take root in doubtful decisions, a lot of which we saw in the Sydney Test between India and Australia.

A smart, thinking captain like Vettori should be able to use the review system to his team's advantage against the West Indies, much like Jayawardene did for his team against India. I personally hold Anil Kumble in the highest esteem and was quite surprised that he failed to get a review strategy in place. The review system should have actually fitted in very well with Kumble's stump-to-stump accurate bowling style, and he could have got a numer of decisions reversed in his favour. Indeed if the system had been in place in the Bangalaore test against Australia, Kumble would have definitely not gone wicketless. I guess he realizes that now, but then again the IPL is still technically not in charge of world cricket!

Vinod Kambli in Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina

2008-10-05T00:09:00.004+05:30

So have you caught the off-field action on the new TV Channel Colours? I am talking about the new dance show "Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena" in which you can catch cricketers paired with glamorous TV actresses gyrating to Bollywood Numbers. These are the four Cricketer-Actress pairs currently in action:

1. India's 1st back to back test double centurion Vinod Kambli with Shama Sikander
2. Sreesanth with Surveen Chawla
3. Harbhajan Singh - Mona Singh (of Jassi fame)
4. Dinesh Karthik - Nigar Khan (of Lakme India Fashion week wardrobe malfunction fame)
5. Nikhil Chopra - Barkha Bisht
6. Irfan Pathan - Ashima Bhalla

Since the start of the show, the last pair of Irfan Pathan and Ashima Bhalla have withdrawn from the programme but there are rumours that they may make a re-entry.

Find below a video of Vinod Kambli looking very funny in some Chinese make-up dancing with his partner Shama Sikander on Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina's 4th October episode.

Tail saves Australia from follow-on in practise game

2008-10-04T20:15:00.002+05:30

When the umpire lifted the finger for the fifth time in the day, it seemed all over for Australia. The Yuvraj Singh led Board President's XI was just a wicket away from shaming a full-strength Australian team into following on. Alas! That was not to be.

Hussey finally found support - at the fag end of the tail. Batsman no.XI, Stuart Clark gave Hussey ample company, toiling for over a hundred balls for a dogged 44. Hussey himself faced 302 balls for his score of 126. The duo added 96 runs for the last wicket ensuring safe passage for Australia, and but for a mircale session or two, the match looks headed for a draw.

What was worth noting were the contrasting rates at which the two teams piled up their runs. While the Indians scored at an Australian pace of 4.18, the tourists struggled with a run rate of just over 2. It is these run-rates which may become crucial tomorrow.

In their second essay, the Board's XI have already notched up 110 for the loss of Badrinath and Chopra. The two men at the crease, Jaffer and Yuvraj are both capable of scoring quickly - they are already 251 runs ahead and if they can add a quick 70 or 80 in the morning session and declare a couple of overs before lunch, things can get really interesting at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal.

Live Streaming Cricket: India vs Australia: PC, Mobile

2008-10-03T20:29:00.004+05:30

The Australian team is already in India, and already facing some uncomfortable time in their practice game against the Indian Board President's XI. As I write this at the end of Day 2, Australia are over 250 runs behind with 4 top wickets including Hayden and Ponting already back in the pavilion. I was catching the cricket action live on TV - Neo Sports. Besides India, NeoSports may be reachable upto the Middle-East (UAE, Dubai, Sharjah) .Hope you too are in a place where you can watch the India - Australia series live on TV. In many a countries you can watch the four India-Australia tests live on Sky Sports. For cricket fans in the US, the channel to watch out for is Zee Sports America. In Malaysia and Singapore, the cable TV operators Star Hub arrange for you to watch Neo Sports. However if you are not fortunate enough to be able to watch it live on TV, read on - about how you can watch live streaming cricket through the internet on your PC or may be even live cricket on your mobile.

Firs the bad news - Willow.tv is amongst the better options to watch live streaming cricket on the internet but they don't seem to be covering the India-Australia 2008 series.

Action8Cricket is another website you can check out for live stuff.

One new website I ran into - Imvite - provides you with an option of watching hundreds of Indian channels live on your computer. I saw ESPN-Star amongst the options but you may check out for other cricket channels. On Tariksworld Dot Com, you can download a Sopcast player and a TVU Player. There is a clear mention of the India-Australia series Live Streaming Facility.

You may also check out Indiapad, Desikotha or Daruchini for more info on live streaming cricket for the india vs australia 2008 series.

A lot of these places aren't legal and look pretty dicey. I don't know why the ICC or the BCCI don't make an official arrangement for live webcast of cricket on the internet - there was something during the IPL T20 but since then, I don't know.

A couple of times I have been stuck in places where it was not possible to watch live cricket matches on TV and so i know how it can feel. I haven't provided a direct link to any of these sites as I can myself not be too sure about any one of them but this should be handy references for you to start searching for more. You may have to do lot of searching on the internet - click on lots of different ads and search more before you find the right place. Good Luck!

India vs Australia Series - Match Schedule 2008

2008-09-24T19:39:00.002+05:30

Match Category	Date Schedule	Timings	Team 1	Team 2	Stadium	City
Practise Match	September 27 - 28	9:30 am - 4:00 pm	Australia	Rajasthan Cricket Association's Centre of Excellence	Sawai ManSingh Stadium	Jaipur
Practise Match	October 2 - 5	9:30 am - 4:00 pm	Australia	BCCI Board President's XI	Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium	Uppal, Hyderabad
1st Test Match	October 9 - 13	9:30 am - 4:00 pm	Australia	India	M Chinnaswamy Stadium	Bangalore
2nd Test Match	October 17 - 21	9:30 am - 4:00 pm	Australia	India	Punjab Cricket Association Stadium	Mohali, Chandigarh
3rd Test Match	October 29 - Nov 2	9:30 am - 4:00 pm	Australia	India	Feroze Shah Kotla	Delhi
4th Test Match	November 6 - 10	9:30 am - 4:00 pm	Australia	India	Vidharbha Cricket Association Ground	Cuttack

Howzzat Munaf??

2008-08-25T15:12:00.004+05:30

Arjuna Ranatunga was not among the fittest of players to have graced a cricket field, actually he was pot-bellied. So was Inzy, even Boon and Warne. But I never had a problem with their rotundness - they were good at their craft, put in their best efforts always, and were deeply passionate about the game. Isn't that all that a cricket fan expects of his heroes? But can we say the same about Mr Munaf Patel?

As long back as January 2007, this blog had advocated for his non-inclusion in the team in spite of the fact that on the merit of his bowling skills alone, he was a shoo-in into the India team. Munaf is leaner, thinner and younger than the Ranatunga, Inzy and Boon I am talking about. Yet it is a shame the way he fields. It's understandable that everyone can't be a Jonty, but one does expect the player to put in his 100 percent, isn't it. Did you see the match yesterday? ( India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI, 24th August, Colombo) This guy's absolute lack of passion drove me crazy. Munaf was bowling the 46th over of the innings; in the 2nd ball of the over he ran the non-striker Ajantha Mendis out (!), but didn't bother to make a real appeal. Granted, I have the advantage of the TV replay which he didn't and he may not have realized that Mendis was actually out, but he would have atleast realized that it was a close case. Isn't that when players all over the world appeal?? But not our man - just a faint howzatt and he was already trotting back to mark his run-up!!

In the very next over, he gave away an extra run where there should have been none. Both the mistakes didn't ultimately prove to be costly. In fact, Munaf himself dismissed the dangerous looking Jayawardene in the very over that we just discussed above. No one is doubting the quality of his bowling skills, but this man has no passion at all. Ian Chappell once commented, "How can you be playing for your country, and not get excited sometimes." I am not as big a fan of sledging as Ian though I do agree with the bit about getting excited. Surely a cricket team doesn't need a bowler who can't be excited about making an appeal. Howzzat?

Security disMay for Pakistan

2008-08-20T16:28:00.003+05:30

Shouldn't the Indian cricket team be the most scared about travelling to and playing the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan? Yet, we hardly hear of any concerns from the Indian players; instead it is the Australians who are getting all worked up. Now, the Australian Cricket Association (ACA) has even given its official recommendation to its players - "don't travel to Pakistan". And guess what is the BCCI stand - Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary says he sees "no harm" in Pakistan hosting the prestigious tournament.

Only recently Bangalore and Ahmedabad were targeted with multiple blasts in a single day; the next day, the news channels were busy reporting as the Surat police kept finding bomb after unexploded bombs across the city - so much so, the channels finally lost interest in the count. In almost all cases of terrorism in this country, the government points out to Pakistan's hand. Yet, we are least bothered or worried when our players are going right into the 'terrorist den'.

Are we a nation of the most courageous, or has the relentless exposure to terrorism at home made us indifferent to the prospect of another bombing? I think it is neither - the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is right when it says that the ACA stand is absolutely illlogical. The ACA has given more weightage to the report given by Reg Dickason, based on his short stay in Karachi. You can't blame the PCB for being unhappy as the ACA has largely ignored the more comprehensive report provided by Nicholls Steyn, the security experts hired by the ICC.

The BCCI's stand is not any show of bravado - it just shows a more intelligent understanding of the situation in Pakistan. Imran Khan does have a point when he points out that no cricket team or player has been the target of any terrorist activity ever. With the Australian players, it looks like their wives, girlfriends and the ACA have a bigger influence on their decision than an official ICC report. What remains to be seen now is how Cricket Australia reacts. Or will it be ICC that comes to its rescue?!

One Kiwi searching for a billion new cricket fans

2008-08-17T17:25:00.004+05:30

" Could you imagine that if cricket was in the Olympics, it might have been a catalyst for, let's say an example, a major ODI/Twenty20 or a Super Test series being played beside the Yangtze River in the picturesque Gorges region? Or perhaps a super series involving all major cricketing nations including China in the modern metropolis of Beijing itself? "

- That's not me, but an avid cricket blogger from the beautiful New Zealand, who seems to be right now obsessed with spreading cricket across the oriental. Click here to read more about cricket or the possibilities thereof, in China and Japan. Also, for an interesting field set-up in Mandarin.)

I am high on MSD, what about Nasser?

2008-08-11T17:01:00.003+05:30

"If there is a better one-day keeper-batsman in the world at the moment I'd like to see him."
- Nasser Hussain sings the praises of James Foster, wondering why he has been kept out of the current scheme of things.

"He is called Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He is good looking too...here Nasser, just for you."
- Amit Bajaj

Cute Cricket Pic

2008-08-07T15:34:00.003+05:30

Cricket, cricket everywhere....

The Review, Reviewed.

2008-07-27T23:10:00.003+05:30

The anti-technology brigade hasn't exactly quietened down, but the vociferousness in their voices seem to be missing after seeing the first display of cricket's 'review system' in the 1st Test between India and Sri Lanka at Colombo. Yes, they are picking out the holes - the Dilshan dismissal being their strongest case. Dileep Premchandran writes in his piece titled 'Bugs in the system' - "As Benson signalled for the replay, all eyes turned to the TV screens. Replay followed replay, yet no one could be absolutely sure whether there had been the thinnest of edges, or if the sound heard was merely bat striking ground. The technology that's often used by broadcasters in such situations, the Snickometer, wasn't employed because doubts remain about its efficacy, while Hotspot, used by Channel Nine during the last Ashes series, has yet to be officially tested for accuracy. With Rudi Koertzen, the third umpire, as undecided as anyone watching, Benson, who had no access to the replays, had little option but to change the decision." (cricinfo)

Sirs, what about the Tendulkar decision and the Dravid one? Unlike the Dilshan case, where one cannot be absolutely sure one way or the other, here are two cases where two wrongs (beyond any realm of doubt) were righted with the aid of technology. If we look at the Sehwag decision, it was more a situation of a human error by the 3rd umpire than any technological glitch.

Slow-motion replays, the wicket-to-wicket “mat”, sound from stump microphones and ball-tracking technology up to the point of impact on the pad will be available for use by the television umpire. ( source: The Hindu, Chennai)

Rudi Koertzen, the 3rd umpire was to make a decision based only on 'that part of the ball's trajectory till it hit Sehwag's pads'. If Koertzen wasn't able to spot the ball touching Sehwag's pads, well, technology can't be blamed for it, can it. And would you still want Rudi to be deciding on far more complex decisions with his naked eye, in the middle. ( He will be in the middle for the next two India-Lanka tests, so beware, in advance)

I have always held that umpires across the world are too defensive in their approach, and the bowlers pay a huge price for it. Here i don't blame the umpires though because what we are expecting of them is super-human whereas the fact is they are only humans. If the review system wins its battle against this influential anti-technology brigade, expect a plummeting of batting averages across the world. Batsmen will now be essentially very, very vulnerable in their first twenty or thirty minutes of stay at the crease, when I think, over the years, a huge number of lbw decisions that should have gone the bowler's way didn't. Spinners should hugely benefit from this - and one person who would today be ruing the review format more than anyone else might actually turn out to be the single biggest beneficiary of this system across the world - he is Anil Kumble. He will have a tough time reining in Bhajji from over-using the review, though!

...and IPL begins.

2008-04-18T14:35:00.005+05:30

The Indian Premier League (IPL) begins today evening only - less than six hours remain before Dravid's (and Mallya's, or should i have put it the other way round) Royal Challengers, egged on by the 'first ladies of football' take on King Khan's Kokata Knight Riders ( no prizes now for guessing which team Ekta Kapoor supports ) in the inaugural match of the inaugural Indian Premier League.

You can catch all IPL action live on SET MAX or if you are stuck in some godforsaken place where there is no live coverage of the league on TV, then i suggest you check this link out - This list created earlier should also serve as a good list of sites for Live Streaming Cricket of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Here's the itinerary of the first few matches to get you started.

*****

Day, Date,Time - Team 1 vs Team 2 - Venue

Friday, 18 April, 7 pm - Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Bangalore

Saturday, 19 April, 3 pm - Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings - Mohali

Saturday, 19 April, 8 pm - Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals - Delhi

Sunday, 20 April, 3 pm - Mumbai Indians vs Bangalore Royal Challengers - Mumbai

Sunday, 20 April, 8 pm - Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers - Kolkata

******

In case you are still in doubt, I am rooting for Delhi Daredevils. In case they fare as per expectation, I will switch to King Khan's Kolkata. What are your plans?

The Indian Premier League: Part I

2008-02-25T21:32:00.005+05:30

The IPL Launch: September 2007:

On Thursday, the 13th september 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) launched the Indian Premier League (IPL) on the lines of football’s English Premier League and the National Basketball League (NBA) of the U.S.

In an apparent reaction to Essel Group’s Indian Cricket League (ICL) that had generated much debate, the BCCI paraded Australia bowling great Glenn McGrath and former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming in the national capital to support the IPL. India’s captain Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble were also part of the glittering launch attended by the President of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Ray Mali, and chiefs of various cricket boards.

On the occasion, the BCCI and the ICC also unveiled a $5 million prize money Champions Twenty20 League. The added incentive of being part of the IPL will be the chance to play in the Champions Twenty20 League to be organised by the International Cricket Committee (ICC).

Just as in the UEFA Champions League, the winner and runner-up team of the IPL will qualify for the Champions League, to be played in October 2008. For a start, domestic Twenty20 leagues would be conducted by the cricket boards of Australia, South Africa and England, to have an eight-team Champions League.

The IPL, India’s domestic Twenty20 league will debut in April 2008 with 59 matches spread over 44 days. The IPL will primarily be played under lights with play beginning at 5 p.m. Two matches will be scheduled each day.

The IPL will be a franchise-model wherein corporates and sponsors will be allowed to buy and run teams. Player buy-outs will be an added feature, something that cricket is not accustomed to.

Title Sponsorship Rights:

Real estate developer DLF Group has won the title sponsorship of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after its successful Rs 200-crore bid. The bidding started at Rs 125 crores.

The three other bidders apart from DLF were Percept D'Mark, Hero Honda along with WSG and 21st Century even though the latter withdrew their bid as they wanted extra time to discuss the product category.

TV Rights:

Jan 14, 2008: In one of the biggest telecast deals in Indian cricket, the consortium of India's Sony Television network and the Singapore-based World Sports Group (WSG) bagged the rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the official Twenty20 league for a period of 10 years at a cost of over US$1 billion. As part of the deal, the consortium will pay the BCCI US$908 million for the telecast rights and US$108 million for the promotion of the tournament.

Rough calculations show that Sony will need to sell a 10 second commercial for upwards of 2 lakh rupees to make the deals profitable. Advertisers, Media Planners and Buyers are divided over the value of these commercials - especially after the bitter experience of last year's ODI World Cup. While Sony claims that advertisers are showing keen interest in this 'more than cricket' entertainment package, a few media planners are wary for other reasons. Says one, "These matches are all prime time matches. How many women will allow their husband’s fascination for cricket to take precedence over soaps for 59 straight days remains to be seen?"

(to be continued)

Racism row's innocent victims

2008-01-08T01:08:00.000+05:30

Read this interesting story about the disappointment of five young cricket fans at the Bradman Oval.

I am no racist but Procter is a monkey

2008-01-07T14:02:00.000+05:30

Last winter, when the cricket world was in the midst of another umpiring controversy, this blog had defended Mr. Darrell Hair - my stand was that in the process of indicting Hair, the ICC had violated one of the basic principles of modern democracies. The judiciary doesn't work like the legislature - on the principle of majority. A good judge dispassionately listens to witnesses, checks for evidences and motives only before pronouncing his sentence. Yesterday in Sydney, the ICC got it wrong yet again.

Handing out the Indian offie, Harbhajan Singh a 3 test ban for making a racist remark (he allegedly called Andrew Symonds a monkey), the ICC match referee Mike Procter said he was satisfied beyond doubt that the allegations made by the Australian cricketers was correct. And how exactly did he reach at this truth? The stump-mikes offered nothing, the umpires heard no such thing, out of the 4 Australian players who went along with Symonds for the hearing, 2 had heard nothing. Just that Ponting believed in the sincerity of his star all-rounder and decided to support him. Bhajji was supported by Tendulkar, Kumble and Dravid. They denied that their team-mate had made any such remark. So Procter, in the lack of any evidence went for the majority opinion! This team of people whose views was factored in included besides others the much maligned firm of Messers Bucknor and Benson!! Procter also added that he gave special importance to Michael Clarke's words. Now why would you that Mr. Neutral Refereee? Unless you have a thing for cute looking Aussie men or you are a racist yourself, Mr. Procter, I don't quite appreciate your modus operandi. And what was the Queen's Counsel, Nigel Peters doing all the while? He should surely have known a thing or two about the way legal systems work.

One practise day too many

2007-12-05T20:36:00.000+05:30

So the BCCI has gone ahead and placed a request with Cricket Australia to reduce the duration of the practise game between the 2nd and the 3rd tests from 3 days to 2. And here we were wondering if India wasn't short of practise matches already. Just in case you are thinking that this wisdom may have been prompted by a concern for sufficient rest between the two test matches, Team India would have got a proper 3 days rest before the next game began at the WACA.

New Year Test: 2nd to 6th Jan, Sydney Cricket Ground

ACT Invitation XI vs India : 10th to 12th Jan, Manuka Oval in Canberra

3rd Test: 16th to 20th Jan, WACA Perth

...and Cricket Australia lost no time in accepting the Indian Board's request.

Pakistan goes to Assam, I come back, ULFA welcomes Pakistan

2007-11-03T18:23:00.000+05:30

So here i am back from my annual trip back home to Dibrugarh in Assam, also the home of the dreaded United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA). With the Pakistan cricket team slated to play the first ODI in Guwahati, Assam has once again been in the news for the wrong reasons: The PCB, much harassed by foreign cricket boards for security reasons on their own grounds got a suitable chance to raise their own security concerns this time round and there has been much talk on the venues for the two team's match preparations since the players would like to spend as little time as possible in the dangerous environment of Assam. And silly me, i had gone on a self-paid annual holiday to ULFA land !!

The Assam Cricket Association ( like every other cricket board in the world ) has a way of making mockery of itself time and again and this time they resorted to making a ridiculous request to the outlawed ULFA to "help in the smooth conduct of the game". The terrorist outfit didn't miss the opportunity and in a statement released by their chairman Arbind Rajkhowa has welcomed the Indian and Pakistan Cricket teams to Assam and has assured everyone that there would be no security concerns for the two teams. Ironcially the ULFA now appeals to "all sections of the society to ensure that the match passes off peacefully". Rajkhowa reassures everyone saying that there was no need for panic since the outfit respects all games and sports. That's a little believable as the self-styled Commander-in-chief of the ULFA, Paresh Baruah was the goalkeeper and captain of Dibrugarh's football team not too long back in history.

How i wish ULFA had the same respect for all human lives as it has for sports and games.

Why is Gilchrist being allowed to go scot-free?

2007-10-04T15:49:00.000+05:30

The 2nd India-Australia ODI is being much talked about for the many verbal duels that rocked the match that day - Sreesanth has been painted as the biggest villain, probably rightly so. Harbhajan Singh's confrontation with the Aussie huddle after his dismissal has been the other talked about issue - with fingers also being pointed at some of the Aussies for instigating the Indian spinner. Michael Clarke and Matthew Hayden are being accused of being 'regular chirpers'. But what about Adam Gilchrist?

During the middle of the India innings, the Indian umpire Suresh Shastri had erred in calling a no-ball, as the TV replays clearly showed that a good part of the bowler's front foot was well behind the front crease. The resultant free hit was duly dispatched for a six by Yuvraj Singh, and Gilchrist who hadn't reacted earlier suddenly erupted. Dashing down the pitch, he gave Shastri quite a dose of words, his non-verbal gestures clearly pointing out what he was talking about. The poor umpire looked intimitated and embarassed.

Now Shastri may not be the brightest umpire around, but he is definitely not the first umpire in the world to have made a wrong no-ball decision. Would Gilchrist have had the guts to do the same if the same mistake had been made by the other umpire in the match, Steve Bucknor? Wasn't that a clear case of dissent?

The ICC Playing Conditions are actually pretty harsh on this - even if the match referee had thought it was a simple case of dissent, it is a Level 1 offence. ( pointed out at 1.3) Gilchrist should have been fined anything upto 50% of his match fee, and more importantly given an official reprimand.

Now running down the pitch (22 yards) and intimidating the umpire verbally and with non-verbal gestures is not a 'simple case of dissent'. According to the ICC rule-book, it is a Level 3 offence - the fine for which is a ban for 4 to 8 one-days. But forget a ban, no one is even accusing Gilchrist of having done any wrong.

To top up the ridiculousness of it all, Mr. Gilchrist even has the balls to now accuse some of the Indians of indulging in wrong behaviour. And in another part of the world, one of Gilchrist's country-mates is accusing the Indian & Pakistan Cricket boards of being racists. Is amnesia a common disease down under?

Cronje stands up for Cronje

2007-10-02T20:23:00.002+05:30

In the last week of this month if you happen to be in India, you might see Hansie Cronje in action once again, though this time action will be preceded by 'Lights' and 'Camera'.

The former South African cricket captain's brother, Frans Cronje is producing a film that will focus on 'Hansie's inner journey'. Francois Rautenbach will play the role of Hansie Cronje in the movie to be directed in assistance with Regardt van den Bergh. The film crew will land in India in the last week of October, and amongst other things will capture Hansie's meeting with Mother Teresa. Though some cricket action will be shot, no real life cricketers will be involved in the movie.

The movie is loosely based on the ex-cricketer's biography, "The Hansie Cronje Story: An Authorised Biography".

While Cronje confessed to his involvement in the match fixing scandal, he had the courage to admit to his mistakes, unlike many other cricketers who still try to portray themselves as victims. In his statements, Cronje had pointed out former India captain Mohammad Azharudding as the person who had introduced him to the bookie Mukesh Gupta. Azhar, who was banned for life by the BCCI never confessed. Instead, he alleged that he was being victimised because he belonged to the minority Muslim community - a statement for which he apologised later after coming under scathing attack in the media.

Pakistan vs South Africa: Changes in the air

2007-09-30T23:39:00.000+05:30

The 1st Test between Pakistan and South Africa starts tomorrow at the National Stadium, Karachi. While at the helm of the Pakistan team are a new captain, vice-captain and coach, it is the one planned change in the South Africa side that have grabbed the headline. Ex-captain and fast bowler Shaun Pollock may yet play tomorrow, but definitely not as first choice. The official word from the South Africa camp is that Pollock is being saved for greener wickets, where the ageing hero's fading pace will still be a force to reckon with. If he still makes it to the XI tomorrow that will be via an injury to Morni Morkel, who will undergo a fitness test on the morning of the 1st Test.

Shoaib Malik will lead Pakistan for the first time in a Test match, along with a new vice-captain in Salman Butt. Left arm spinner Abdur Rehman is slated to make his debut, and Shahid Afridi who has opted out of the team as he is fasting in the holy month of Ramadan will be sorely missed on the dry Karachi wicket. While Afridi himself may not care much for his own batting now, Malik would know that even a quick fire 40 or 50 from Afridi can often make a crucial difference to the proceedings. ( Afridi averages 37.40 with the bat and has picked up 47 wickets in the 26 tests he has played)

Likely Pakistan Team:

1 Shoaib Malik (captain) Salman Butt (vice-captain) 2 Mohammad Hafeez 3 Younis Khan 4 Mohammad Yousuf 5 Mohammad Hafeez 6 Misbah-ul-Haq 7 Kamran Akmal (wk) 8 Abdur Rehman 9 Umar Gul 10 Danish Kaneria 11 Mohammad Asif

Likely South Africa Team:

1 Graeme Smith (captain 2 Herschelle Gibbs 3 Jacques Kallis 4 Hashim Amla 5 Ashwell Prince 6 AB de Villiers 7 Mark Boucher (wk) 8 Andre Nel 9 Makhaya Ntini 10 Shaun Pollock 11 Paul Harris
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You may also like to read Islamization of Pakistan Cricket"
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India vs Australia: 1st One-day : Bangalore

2007-09-29T14:37:00.000+05:30

A seven match ODI series between India and Australia begins today (29th September 2007) at the Chinnaswami Stadium in Bangalore.

India Team for the Bangalore One-Day:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, R P Singh, Ramesh Powar, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Gautam Gambhir

Australia Team:
Adam Gilchrist (captain), Matthew Hayden, Brad Hogg, Brad Hodge, Haddin, Hopes, Andrew Symonds, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Michael Clark, Stuart Clark

(5 surnames in the Australia team start with the letter H. Is that a record?)

Starting with this India-Australia match, the new ICC rules for One-day Internationals come into effect:

- If a bowler bowls a front foot no-ball, the following delivery will be deemed a free hit and the batsman cannot be dismissed by the bowler from that delivery. He can only be run out. ( the T20 free hit rule has been imported into ODI cricket)
- Additional fielder during the 2nd and 3rd powerplays.

This i think is the really sensible one:
- Mandatory change of ball after the 35th over. Not a new ball, but a clean used one.

- Proportionate reduction in powerplay overs (of the 2 kinds) if the innings is shortened.

It will also be interesting to see if the T20 kind of cricket has any immediate effects on the original slam-bang cricket. Captains couldn't have ignored the fact that it is quite possible to score 170-200 runs in 20 overs. The traditional 'good average' of 6 at the end of the powerplay overs may be questioned sooner than later. I have a feeling 400s would be far more frequent than they have been in the past!!!

Islamization of Pakistan Cricket

2007-09-28T00:42:00.000+05:30

It began a few years ago when Shaheed Anwar's flowing beard made its debut on a cricket ground. Very soon a Pakistani player wearing an unusually long beard stopped surprising the audience. So far, not bad.

Then we heard about the disappearance of one of the long-bearded Pakistani cricketers to the dismay of the ICC - Mohammad Yousuf, the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year was finally found preaching in the northern terrains of Pakistan. He missed the ICC Awards function in South Africa just before the start of the Twenty20 World Cup. So far, not too bad.

Then we heard Shoaib Malik speak at the post-match presentation ceremony after the final of the just concluded T20 Cup. "I want to thank all the Muslims, all over the world", uttered the Pakistani captain. Was Malik the captain of the Pakistan cricket team or a Islamic XI? Surely Irfan Pathan, the man of the match in the final and the son of an Indian muezzin would not have been too amused. What was Shoaib Malik trying to achieve?

And now, Shahid Afridi, who doesn't have too long a beard has made the shocking decision to skip the Test series against South Africa because he instead wants to fast during the holy month of Ramadan. "I asked the Pakistan board to allow me to skip the two Tests against South Africa because it would be difficult to fast and play in Ramadan," says the player of the tournament of the World Twenty20.

Where is Pakistan cricket headed to? Have they forgotten that a perfectly clean-shaven Imran Khan who didn't care to thank either God or the Muslims all over the world after every match had brought them the World Cup and not the oh so pious Inzamam-ul-Haq?

Cricket players pray so that they perform well for their country and their team succeeds... when their prayers start jeopardizing the fortunes of their own team, I don't think even God would approve very much.

India vs Australia: Match Schedule and Timings

2007-09-27T18:59:00.000+05:30

The Australian team has already arrived in India and barring for the lone Twenty20 match at the end of the tour, it will be Australia who will be playing as the World Champions in this primarily One-Day Tour. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who will be leading India for the first time in a One-day series will know that 50 overs is a different ball game compared to the fare that was dished out recently in South Africa. Plus he will now need to handle 3 ex-captains in the team. Let's hope that Dhoni will be able to leave as strong a mark on this game as he did in the other.

Here's the full schedule of Australia's tour comprising 7 one-day internationals and 1 Twenty20 encounter.

Match	Date	Time	Venue
India vs Australia 1st ODI	29 September	2:30 pm IST (d/n)	Bangalore
2nd One-Day	2 October	9:00 am	Kochi
3rd ODI	5 October	9:00 am	Hyderabad
4th ODI	9 October	9:00 am	Chandigarh
5th ODI	11 October	9:00 am	Vadodara
6th ODI	14 October	9:00 am	Nagpur
7th One-dayer	17 October	2:30 pm (d/n)	Mumbai
Only Twenty20 India vs Australia	20 October	7:00 pm(d/n)	Mumbai

* The ODI at Mumbai is live from the Wankhede Stadium and the T20 match will be held at the Brabourne Stadium.

INDIA ARE WORLD TWENTY20 CHAMPIONS

2007-09-25T20:28:00.000+05:30

Ist Twenty2o World Cup Final

Monday, 24th September : Johannesburg, South Africa

India: 157/5 beat Pakistan: 152 all out

Live Cricket Streaming: Pakistan vs South Africa

2007-09-24T18:35:00.000+05:30

The South Africa cricket tour to Pakistan begins with the 1s Test at Karachi starting 1st October 2007. The tour comprises 2 Test matches and 5 one-day internationals. For my blog readers residing in United States, UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai, Kuwait, UAE, Sharjah and other places where live telecast of the cricket matches is not available or if they can see it live on TV, the pay-per-view costs are prohibitive, here is some information on how they can wthe Pakistan-South Africa series live streaming on their computers.

Willow.TV is providing the Pak-SA series - this is a paid series and may not be available in all geographical locations. You can pay through Visa, Masters and Amex credit cards - for more details, check out their website.

I came across this blog called Banglamedia.blogspot - the blog claims to be providing free sopcast/live streaming links. Doesn't look to be a very promising place - but when it's for free, you can always check it out.

Besides this, you can also refer to some other cricket webcasting sites in my previous posts on the same topic.

Live Streaming Cricket for the India-England series

Stories from the Cricket Blogosphere

2007-09-23T19:04:00.000+05:30

The prayers of a blue billion and about half a green billion have been answered - an India vs Pakistan final is one of the ultimate fantasies of a cricket fan and it's been delivered, and how!! With Twenty20 having caught the imagination of the world, i thought of surfing the blogosphere and see what fellow cricket bloggers were writing. Here are some random gems

1.

"I will smash your face, you just wait" - The Yuvraj Singh-Flintoff controversy. And Yuvi's "Pay-Back Drama." Karthikeya digs into this story on his blog A Cricketing View - while this is not the best time to criticize Mr. Sixes, but i think Yuvraj had ready sound-bites for the media post his 666666. You must have already heard the "God, this is not justice" crap. I don't know why the press or the electronic media let go off of the 'tendonitis/tennis elbow' nonsense so easily even though Nasser Hussain and Harsh Bhogle had supplied the world with enough fodder for thought.

India v South Africa by the Left Arm ChinaMan

Thus spake the Atheist: So frustrated by their ineptitude, that the Saffer wicket keeper, Mark Boucher, began to slap the faces of surrounding players with his glove, followed by some sound punching and then he tripped them up with a cricket bat which has recently grown from his mid-rift.

Go there, if not for the text, for the image accompanying this post.

"Its l like watching an Angelina Jolie sex scene" - Uncle Rod similizes Yuvi's power hitting

Homer's Eeerie parallels between the autumns of 2000 and 2007

This ain't a pure cricket blog, but she writes the cutest posts on cricket: Dravid Resigns at Pri's World

"I title my post Dravid Resigns and yet every other word in my post ends with a kar, you know like Gavaskar, Vengsarkar etc. "

Visit Brian Carpenter's Different Shades of Green for the best/most elegant header image amongst all the cricket blogs in the world. Like everyone else in England, he too seems to be mch troubled with Mr. Yuvraj Singh and is trying to find succour in county cricket!!

"Brett Lee bowled with speed and aggression, knowing a good performance here could help him push another million Bollywood singles. "- JC's report on the India-Australia semi-final at his Cricket Blog. A tad staid by JC's standards, but the comments make-up for the lack of spice.

Catch Bhajji's Bhangra (India vs Australia) at Six and Out . And if you are there, you may as well read this brief piece titled Yuvraj's Jab in Freddies Jaw

I love cricket, but if it could be combined with a bit of art and a bit of action, it would be perfect. Check out Cricket=Action=Art for some stunning cricket artwork. Here's an example.

Plenty of visual delights on this blog, including an image of the victory huddle that India formed yesterday afternoon at the Kingsmead, Durban.

Twenty20 SemiFinal: What happens in case of rain?

2007-09-22T17:03:00.000+05:30

Here are the 'ICC Twenty20 Playing Conditions' which give the rules in case a semi-final of the Twenty20 World Cup is abandoned due to rain.

In case of No result in the Semi Final – the team with the most wins in both the Group stage and Super Eight Series matches shall be placed in the higher position.
If still equal the team with the higher net run rate in all matches (in both Group stage and Super Eight Series matches) shall proceed to the Final.
If following the net run rate calculation above there are teams which are still equal, then the team with the higher number of wickets taken per balls bowled in all matches (in both Group and Super Eight Series matches) in which results are achieved, shall proceed to the Final.
If still equal, the finalist shall be determined by drawing lots.

So Pakistan will go through to the semi-final in case the semi-final is abandoned. (NZ has a total of 3 wins so far but Pakistan has 4)

Live Streaming Cricket / Highlights: India vs Australia

2007-09-22T12:48:00.000+05:30

Chinnaswami Stadium in Bangalore. Action begins at 2:30 pm India Time (8:00 pm GMT). In India you can catch live cricket action on Neo Sports, but there are a number of cricket fans stationed across the world who are hampered by lack of live telecast on TV or due to the huge rates charged by TV Channels on the pay-per-view basis. So here’s a lowdown on places on the nets where you can catch live cricket streaming. I’ve tried to give a summary of the websites, packages and associated features (including live cricket streaming sopcasts).

1. Willow.TV: You can catch the live cricket webcasts here through the Dish Network and Nimbus Sports. Features available: Live Streaming, On Demand Replays and Highlights of the India-Australia matches, Interactive Highlights and Mobile Commentary.

The site is also providing live streaming facility for the Sri Lanka – England Series. Plus English and Lanka fans get to avail of the benefits of on-demand highlights, on-demand replays, interactive highlights and mobile commentary.

South Africa begins its tour to Pakistan on Oct 1 with the first test at Karachi. The South Africa-Pakistan series comprises 2 tests and 5 one-dayers. This series is also available live at Willow.

For more details and package rates, check with their website.

2. Action8Cricket through LiveSportsOnline.Info is claiming :
Environment / Easy user Pannel
1. Best Service

2. 1Tb LAN Card Streaming.

3. Easy to Use member Area.

4. Live Media Player Streaming.

Features available: Live Cricket Scores, Audio Streaming and Live Streaming Video

Now while Willow might be the best option, it is not available in all countries ( available in North America and UK for sure but I am not sure if you can catch live streaming cricket on Willow if you are in Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai, Kuwait and quite a few other places with large Indian populations who may be keen to watch their team live.)

You can also check out IndianPad ( I couldn’t understand the site one bit but you can check out if you are really desperate), DesiKotha and DaruChini.

Most of the better sites are regular now. So for more details on sites for watching the India-Australia series live or the Pakistan-South Africa one, you can check out the previous 2 posts I had done on the same topic.

Live Cricket Streaming Videos and Highlights for the India - England Series
Live Streaming Cricket Videos, Sopcasts and Highlight package for the Twenty20 Cup

World Twenty20: It's a India vs Pakistan final

2007-09-22T12:29:00.000+05:30

It was the expected thing in the 1987 Reliance World Cup, but didn't happen as England and Australia spoiled the fun at the penultimate juncture. Twenty years later in the Twenty20 Cup, with both India and Pakistan fielding young teams and new captains at the helm, no one expected the sub-continent arch-rivals to reach this far. But then cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties, ain't it?

In the first semi-final of the inaugural World Twenty20 championship, New Zealand took on Pakistan at Capetown. Daniel Vettori won the toss and asked Pakistan to make first use of the wicket which promised some movement and early help for the faster bowlers. Shane Bond got into the act in the first over itself scalping opener Imran Nazir ever before the young man had opened his account. But from there on it was Pakistan all the way as they thrased the Kiwi attack all round the park. Even Vettori, who has had a most economical series so far was not spared. The hapless NewZealand captain was taken for 24 runs in his final over as Shahid Afridi just missed breaking Yuvraj Singh's record of T20's fastest fifty. Afridi was finally dismissed for 49 off just 10 balls. (for the video of Afridi's 8 consecutive sixes, click here :)) .

Chasing a mammoth target of 222, NZ got off to a blistering start reaching 75 in just 5.0 overs. It was the brilliant change of attack from the Pakistan captain that changed the tide of the game completely - in the 6th over, Malik brought on himself even though the fielding restrictions were still on and in the 7th over, a double change happened as spin was introduced from the other end as well, in the form of Afridi. Malik and Afridi bowled in tandem right from the 6th to the 13th over - and what a spell it was! Many many years from now, cricket fans would still remember this afternoon in Capetown when two Pakistani spinners mesmerized the Kiwis into abject surrender.

Not a single wicket fell in the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th overs but the Kiwis were in deep tangle as the scorecard read 80/0. Just five runs were scored off the last five overs and the asking rate had climbed to a steep 14.20. Under intense pressure to get going, one after the other NZ batsmen threw away their wickets and by the time the two spinners had finished their quota of overs, the match was for all purposes over. The scorecard read 92/7 at the end of over no.13 . Pakistan finally won the match by 92 runs to reach the final.

In the other semi-final at Durban, Australia who chose to bat first were dismissed for all of 43 runs. Ajit Agarkar who once again managed to find a place in the India XI wreaked havoc on the Aussies as he dismissed Gilchrist, Hayden, Symonds, Hussey, Hodge, Clarke and Watson. He finished with figures of 3.5-0-21-7 . India rattled off the required 44 runs without the loss of any wickets. Speaking at the post-match conference, Adam Gilchrist said, "It was the most humiliating day of my life." (Gilchrist was out hit-wicket as a squash ball fell onto his stumps :) )

Fastest way to check cricket scores on the net

2007-09-21T22:53:00.000+05:30

You may have figured this out by now - that CricInfo or whichever other site you had been using earlier to check live cricket scores is no longer the fastest way to check the score. In case you haven't - the thonour for that goes to who else but GOOGLE.

All you need to do is type Cricket in your Google search box and there it is on the very top - live cricket scores. Cricinfo definitely takes more time to upload than Google and even then you don't get it on the home page; you need to click at least once more. A smart Google way to wean away some traffic away from the cricket sites to itself.

India outfield South Africa to reach Twenty20 Semis

2007-09-21T01:58:00.000+05:30

In the past, India has out-batted South Africa to win a cricket match. Sometimes they have outbowled them too. But tonight was different - besides beating the Proteas in the batting and bowling departments, India were the better side in the field too. When Dinesh Karthik plucked the flying ball from mid-air(reaction time: 0.76 seconds) to send captain Graeme Smith back, his first ball duck earlier in the evening was immediately forgiven. New-kid-on-the-block Rohit Sharma topped up his match winning fifty with a most athletic pick n throw to run out the in-form Justin Kemp. Besides these two super efforts, the Indians were good in the outfield and barring a couple of minor errors, their fielding effort today was blemishless.

While Dhoni used his bowling resources in the smartest manner, I am not too sure about this bat first policy. The new India captain is in the grips of a chase-phobia - he admitted as much at the toss; the decision to set a target worked out well for him today, but the decision should not be a function of this fear. But for that, I have been most impressed with India's new ODI captain.

What is Tendonitis/Tennis Elbow?

2007-09-21T01:40:00.000+05:30

tendonitis
noun meaning: inflammation of a tendon

tennis elbow

Tennis elbow is a painful elbow disorder. This term is misleading because most people who have it did not get it from playing tennis. In fact, tennis elbow seldom has any connection with fun and games. (if you have been following Sachin Tendulkar's career, you may not agree. Now even Yuvraj Singh seems to be suffering from it. )

The technical name for tennis elbow is "lateral epicondylitis". This term indicates an inflammation that occurs near a small point or projection of the upper arm bone (humerus) just above the elbow joint on the outer side of the arm.

cricinfo adds:

It appears to occur more frequently in batsmen who are caught in a "cycle of pressure", either through a personal loss of form, or through the need to fend off a high-class bowling attack. A classic example of an "opener-under-pressure" was the Australian batsman Geoff Marsh, who was noted to wear a tennis-elbow strap regularly

info sources:

dictionary.com and website of Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety

India vs South Africa: What should be India's Team?

2007-09-20T17:41:00.000+05:30

An interesting conversation took place between the two commentators (Hindi) on Star Cricket today during the Sri Lanka-Australia world T20 encounter earlier today.

कमेंटेटर १: आज रात के दू ओर दिए मैच में भारत को एक्ष्पेरिएन्सेद् खिलाड़ियों को प्रेफेरेंस देनी चाहिऐ । जोगिन्दर सिंह अभी युवा खिलाडी हैं और पिछले मैच में उनको बहुत ज़्यादा मार पडी थी। धोनी को आज अगरकर को फिर से टीम में शामिल करना चाहिऐ।

कमेंटेटर २(भूतपूर्व भारतीय क्रिकेटर): अगर शिर्फ एक्ष्पेरिएन्स् ही सेलेक्शन का मापदंड है तो मुझे क्यों नहीं खिला लेते? मैं १९८३ की विश्वा कप विजेता टीम में भी था !!

Translated:

Commentator 1: Ajit Agarkar should be brought back into the team for the evening's do-or-die encounter against South Africa in place of rookie Joginder Singh. Singh is new to international cricket whereas Agarkar has the experience that may be required in the crucial match tonight.

Commentator 2 (former India cricketer): If performance has stopped being a criteria and experience is all that matters, why don't you play me in the evening's match? Afterall, I too am very experienced, and unlike Agarkar, I have been a member of a World Cup winning squad !!!

While i have myself been quite supportive of Mr. Agarkar in the past, i think it's now high time to drop him permanently - he has been given enough chances at the international level now, and his great batting in domestic matches should not be allowed to become a reason for his re-selection. As for his bowling - I don't think any other Indian bowler has killed as many one-dayers with '1 bad over' as Agarkar has. Yes, he was a key bowler on the memorable trip to Australia and has put in splending performances every now and then. But his inconsistency with the ball and consistency(sic) with the bat can no longer be hidden under the garb of experience. India needs to move on.

My team for today's World Twenty20 match against South Africa:

1. Gautam Gambhir

2. Virender Sewhag

3. Robin Uthappa

4. Yuvraj Singh

5. Mahendra Singh Dhoni

6. Rohit Sharma ( He has played 9 Twenty20 matches, and has a century to his credit. Sharma has taken 8 wickets at an economy rate of sub 7)

7. Irfan Pathan

8. Yusuf Pathan ( He has played 4 Twenty20 matches till date. Batting Strike Rate is 195+ and has picked up 9 wickets at an economy rate of 7.7, the only thing going against him may be his style of bowling - Yusuf is a leg-spinner)

9. Harbhajan Singh

10. Sreesanth

11. R P Singh

Twenty20 Points Table: Who will make it to the semis?

2007-09-20T12:19:00.000+05:30

Group E current standings:

Team	Matches Played	Won	Lost	Points	Net Run Rate
South Africa	2	2	0	0	0.766
New Zealand	3	2	1	0	0.050
India	2	1	1	0	0.200

Remaining Match:India Vs South Africa

Yesterday's 18 runs victory over England, powered by Yuvi's 6-6-6-6-6-6 has made India's task much simpler now. To ensure a spot in the Twenty20 World Cup semi-final, Dhoni and his men need not bother about the net run rate now - a simple win over South Africa will do.

Let's look at the various possible scenarios in this group.

1. If South Africa wins, India will be knocked out. NZ & SA go through to the semis.
2. If India wins, India go through to the semi, for sure. But New Zealand and South Africa's fortunes will be a function of the margin of India's victory.

- If South Africa lose by about 30 runs, they will be out.
- If India chases, they will need to win with about 3 overs to spare to give New Zealand a spot in the semis.

(approx calculations: please allow a small margin for error, i am no mathematician :) )

For now, it's time to start gazing at the TV screen as i hope Sri Lanka will knock Australia out of the Twenty20 World Cup.

Collingwood goes Bang-Bang

2007-09-19T01:33:00.000+05:30

Antonia (second from left) hails from Romania. She is 23 yrs old and her bust size is 34 c. Louisa is from Ukraine and so is Yara. Jasmine is..........

Aren't they all pretty and ooh-so-attractive? The Maverick Revue Bar in Capetown has 90 such stunning beauties and the England cricket captain is a man after all. Surely this is a better place to drown your sorrows than the Caribbean Sea that Freddy had chosen for himself earlier this year. And poor dear Paul Collingwood had gone there for just a beer and not for something that rhymes with his score the next afternoon (in case you are getting any ideas) !! A 1000 £ fine is too much for such minor transgressions!

What's making me feel worse is that i can't even sincerely wish him good luck for his next match - England take on India tomorrow. The match is happening in Durban, more than a thousand miles away from the temptations of Maverick Reveue and Bang-Bang Bars of Capetown. English fans can only hope that with Jasmine, Yara and gang too far away from the Kingsmead, their captain will concentrate on the job at hand. So what if his shots are greeted by the Indian fans with shouts of "Yara, kya hai mara"!!!

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is India's new ODI Captain

2007-09-18T12:31:00.000+05:30

The news channels are abuzz with news of Twenty20 captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's selection as the new India cricket captain - for the time being, for one-dayers only. Apparently, Sachin Tendulkar declined the captaincy offer which was first made to him. On the recent England tour Sachin had remarked on the increasing time his body was taking to recover from the ravages of a one-day match and it's therefore hardly any surprise that the maestro didn't take up the challenge thrown to him in the late evening of his career.

While this news is not official - the BCCI is yet to make a formal announcement, it is most unlikely to be a rumour. Dhoni's elevation to ODI captaincy was widely expected, while Sachin may take up the role for the challenging test series against Australia and Pakistan. For Dhoni, who had described his ascension to the T2o skipper's postion as a fairy-tale come true, this one will surely be a dream come true. ( assuming Dream > Fairy-Tale !!! )

However, the lack of discussion or buzz around Saurav Ganguly's name is mysterious, considering that unlike Sachin, he was a big success as captain of India. What's more - Sachin has already been given 2 chances in the past and a 3rd run as captain would have very few precedents across the world, if there are any.

T20: Lee-thal Blow to Cricket?

2007-09-17T15:41:00.000+05:30

" Sometimes you look up at the scoreboard and you see you have gone for just 15 off two overs, it's just a matter of knowing you've hit the spot. And I've been pretty happy. "
- Bret Lee, after the Australia-Bangladesh match yesterday.

" The trouble is, Twenty20 doesn't seem like cricket to me. It appears to be not so much a speeded-up, watered down version of cricket, a sort of cricket-lite for dummies who are incapable of comprehending the complexities and subtleties of the greatest game in the world, but an utter impostor. It has whittled away at cricket's essence; it has snuffed out its soul; it is unrecognisable as the game i adore. "

- Soumya Bhattacharya in the Hindustan Times

Twenty20 World Cup:Super Eight Schedule

2007-09-17T03:16:00.001+05:30

Here's the full schedule of the Twenty20 World Cup Super 8 Matches.

Date	Group	Match	Venue	Time
16 Sep	E	India vs New Zealand	Johannesburg	0800
16 Sep	F	Australia vs Bangladesh	Capetown	1200
16 Sep	E	South Africa vs England	Capetown	1600
17 Sep	F	Pakistan vs Sri Lanka	Johannesburg	1600
18 Sep	E	England vs New Zealand	Durban	0800
18 Sep	F	Australia vs Pakistan	Johannesburg	1200
18 Sep	F	Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka	Johannesburg	1600
19 Sep	E	South Africa vs New Zealand	Durban	1200
19 Sep	E	India vs England	Durban	1600
20 Sep	F	Australia vs Sri Lanka	Capetown	0800
20 Sep	F	Bangladesh vs Pakistan	Capetown	1200
20 Sep	E	India vs South Africa	Durban	1600

For Indian viewers: The morning match (0800 GMT as in chart above) starts about 1:30 pm IST in the afternoon, the 1200 match starts about 5:30 pm in the evening and the day's last match at 9:30 pm Indian Standard Time.

India defeat Pakistan 3 - 0 !!!!!!

2007-09-15T01:03:00.000+05:30

A wonderful game of cricket ended in a bit of a farce, though I didn't mind the extended fun one bit. In a see-saw battle between arch-rivals India and Pakistan, the plank finally came to a rest parallel with the cricket field as Misbah-ul-haq failed to get the final single that would have sealed the match for his team. But that was only after Misbah-ul-haq got Pakistan back into the game from a hopeless situation with some brilliant power hitting in the 48th and 49th overs.

The match would have ended with both teams tied at 141, but for the introduction of the new 'Bowl-Out' system to determine who gets the 2 points for the match. While the bowl-out did look a kind of a joke, Mahendra Singh Dhoni needs to be complimented for getting the choice of bowlers right. Two of the three bowlers who hit the stumps were not regular bowlers, in fact they hadn't bowled a single ball in the match earlier. No wonder both Sehwag and Uthappa were thrilled with their efforts.

India vs Pakistan, Durban, September 14th 2007

Scores: India - 141/9 and Pakistan 141/7

Rahul Dravid resigns from captaincy

2007-09-14T13:02:00.000+05:30

In a surprise development, Rahul Dravid resigned as the captain of the Indian cricket team. ( Unconfirmed yet. Watch this space for more)

Ashes and War

2007-09-14T01:00:00.000+05:30

Two pairs of arch rivals will fight T20 battles tomorrow in the much drenched cricket-fields of Capetown and Durban. Tommorow's afternoon fight promises to be one exciting one with the most fiercesome of the four warriors back against the walls having suffered a gory loss to an unfancied outsider in the 1st Battle-of-Capetown. Will the giant be able to brush apart its bruises and scars and finish victorious in the do-or-die clash tomorrow? In yesterday's encounter Ponting's soldiers started off with the intetion of blitzkrieging the men from Zimbabwe. The strategy backfired with heavy early casualties, a position of weakness from which the Australians never could recover. What will be their game plan for the morrow? Afterall the English castle is only stronger than the Zimbabwean one, and unfocussed heavy shelling may not be a prudent idea. However a planned artillery attack to weaken the enemy before the final hand-combat might just do the trick.

Translated: Gilchrist and Hayden will need to avoid the tempation to go firing on all cylinders all the time. Give Freddie the respect if he bowls like the way he did today againt Zimb. It is possible to reach a 190-200 score even if one bowler ends up with figures of 4-1-29-2. T20 is slam-bang but not as slam-bang as Ponting thought/thinks it was/is!!

When the sun sets tomorrow in Durban, the stars will rise - to shine, and fight. A new general is in charge of the Hindoostan army and unlike the previous incumbent he is no Wall. To the contrary, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a 'Wall-Demolisher'. He dislikes minor skirmishes prefering instead to wage mounted battles or launching missiles. In an earlier avatar as an ordinary soldier, he had once brought the same enemy to its knees in a battle on the eastern coast of India. In that magnificient battle, Dhoni single-handedly shot down 148 men of the Pakistan navy - most remarkable were those four sensational shots when he drowned naval ships carrying 6 men with a single fire. 15 other times he shot down ships carrying 4 men apiece. But that clash is now history and tomorrow is a new day. The Pakistani army is also under a new dynamic and multi-talented leader - Shoaib Malik. For General Malik the primary task will be to marshall his own unruly troops. He knows that he has a bunch of great individual fighters, but can they stop the in-fighting to focus their energies on wiping out the opposition?

Will Dhoni's men be able to put it across Pakistan then? I suspect the key may lie in INS Sehwag, that old warship which has seen much battle but rusty now for lack of use. INS Pathan faces a similar predicament. If these two old war-horses can kick off that rust and manage to shimmer, the Blue stars can definitely outshine the Green ones tomorrow night.

*******

Twenty20 World Cup: 14 September 2007

Afternoon, 1200 GMT : Australia vs England, Capetown

Evening, 1600 GMT : India vs Pakistan, Durban

Twenty20 Twist to Rain Rule

2007-09-13T21:38:00.000+05:30

It's raining on the Kingsmead, Durban and the start of the India-Scotland match has been delayed. India would not want to miss out on the points and more importantly the batting and bowling practise that the match would provide. Tonight ICC may actually come to the rescue of the Indian team.

The Playing Conditions of the T20 World Cup have seen an important (and sensible) change to rules regarding the resumption of the game if the match gets disrupted by rain.

Law 3.9 - Suspension of play for adverse conditions of ground, weather or light
Laws 3.8 and 3.9 shall apply subject to the following:
3.5.1 If conditions during a rain stoppage improve and the rain is reduced to drizzle, the umpires must consider if they would have suspended play in the first place under similar conditions. If both on-field umpires agree that the current drizzle would not have caused a stoppage, then play shall resume immediately. In these circumstances the provisions of Laws 3.9 (b) (i) and 3.9 (c) (i) shall not apply.

The previous rule was that 'once play was stopped due to rain, resumption could only happen when the rain came to a complete stop'. That stringency has now been relaxed, thankfully as India may realize later tonight.

Bangladesh put West Indies out of Twenty20 World Cup

2007-09-13T17:28:00.000+05:30

Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful recorded the fastest 5o in the history of Twenty20 Cricket to send West Indies tumbling out of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup. Only a little earlier Ashraful must have been a disheartened man as he gave away 24 runs off the 19th over of the Windies innings - West Indies had put up a most lackadaisical batting display and it was only a late flurry of runs that allowed them to reach a respectable score.

Sarwan may have been thinking that 164 should be enough for the West Indies to stop Bangladesh and as they lost early wickets things looked bright and hopeful for him. At 28/2 Ashraful walked in to bat and by the time he walked out, after having played just 27 balls, the match was as good as over for West Indies. It was a most delightful innings studded with 2 of the cutest 6's ever hit on a cricket field. Dougie Marillier would have definitely been proud of Ashraful today!!

Ian Chappell had conjectured yesterday about the possibility of Bangladesh upsetting one of the two teams in its pool and was proved right in less than a day. Two big upsets in two days and the Twenty20 World Cup is generating some serious excitement and crowd interest already - unlike the other World Cup which happened earlier this year. More interestingly a bigger upset may be on the cards - if England beat Australia, which i would think is at least a 50:50 possibility, that will send the favourites Aussies packing back home. Now that will be some good fun!!!!